24 yr old in Medical School can I claim her as dependent? When figuring support do student loans in her name count towards her support? Her earnings for 2016 were $1500

[cfinnegan]

I am just trying to figure if I provide enough support to her to be able to claim her.  We provide health care, health ins, vehicle and vehicle expenses, food etc. however she does take out student loans in her name to pay for medical school.  We may end up helping her pay those off at some point.  Are those student loans considered support in the calculation of support?

[Coleen3 · Accepted solution]

Yes, it does count. The IRS in Pub 17 doesn't come out and specifically say it does but the two paragraphs below address the issue. The first talks about loans in general and the second uses an example of a dependent with student loans.

Enter the total funds belonging to the person you supported, including income received (taxable and nontaxable) and amounts borrowed during the year, plus the amount in savings and other accounts at the beginning of the year. Don’t include funds provided by the state; include those amounts on line 23 instead.

Your niece takes out a student loan of $2,500 and uses it to pay her college tuition. She is personally responsible for the loan. You provide $2,000 toward her total support. You can’t claim an exemption for her because you provide less than half of her support.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html

[cfinnegan]

Thank you for your help