Should I stop listing my child as dependent if she's part time student and wants to file tax on her own

[mobius]

Hi, 

My child is 20 years old and wants to become a legal resident of another state. For that she chose to be part time student and got a job this month (Dec/2021) and ask me not to claim her as dependent for 2021. Is it ok for me not to list her as my dependent even she only has 1 month of income throughout 2021?

[JandKit]

Hi mobius

If your daughter earns more than $4,300, you are not able to claim her. An exception would be if she were a full-time student. Since she is not fulltime, it all dependes on the amount of income she earned for the year and whether or not she lived with you or somewhere else.

[mobius]

Hi JandKit,

Thank you for your reply. If she doesn't earn $4,300, not living with me but live by herself in another state as part time student, can I not claim her as my dependent?

In the meantime, will I have any legal liability for not supporting my child? Even it's only for the last month, from the tax point of view it would look like the whole 2021.

Thanks!

[rjs]

The whole year matters, not just what she does in December.
What was your daughter's status earlier in the year? Was she a full-time student for part of the year? If so, for how long? Did she live with you for more than half the year? Did you provide more than half of her support for the year? You might be able to claim her as a dependent even if she makes $4,300 or more. If she makes less than that, it's very likely that you can claim her.

NOTE - When your daughter files her own tax return, she must say that she can be claimed as a dependent if you can claim her, whether or not you actually do claim her. Her asking you not to claim her doesn't accomplish anything or make any difference. What matters is whether you can claim her, not whether you do claim her.

Whether you are obligated to support your daughter is a legal question, not a tax question, and it depends on state law. I am not a lawyer, but I don't think you are required to support a 20-year-old. In any case, the IRS is not going to report you for not supporting your child, so don't worry about what it looks like on your tax return.