My son decided to move into an apartment with his girlfriend in 2020. They moved in the first week of July (6 months in my house), and then they both moved back into my house in July of 2021. Both are college students. He makes a very small income through a campus job. She has an income through a full-time (almost) job. I have always paid all college expenses, and claim him as a dependent. I have no idea about her tax status between her and her parents. How does this affect my taxes? He has never filed due to his not earning very much. Have I made mistakes?
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You cannot claim your son's GF as a dependent on your tax return. She is unrelated to you and did not live in your home for an entire tax year. So never mind the GF.
If you paid for over half your full-time student son's support and he is under the age of 24 then you can claim him as a dependent on your tax return. If he is under 24 he can still be claimed as your qualified child dependent. You enter the education credits on your own return.
If your son had any sort of job with tax withheld then he can file a tax return to seek a refund of the amount in box 2 and/or box 17 of his W-2, but he has to say on his return that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?
You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2021 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:
Qualifying child
Qualifying relative
Thank you! I never intended to claim the GF as a dependent, I just wasn't sure if the July move was an issue. If he lives with me for EXACTLY six months, and six months on this own, is that an issue?
@raiderman Your college student does not have to live with you. Living away from home while he is a full-time student is considered to be a temporary absence. So you do not have to worry about counting up the days he was under your roof.
Thanks, that helps. Would it benefit him to file also? Even though he doesn't meet the income threshold to NEED to file?
@raiderman As I mentioned previously, if your son has a W-2 with tax withheld he can file a return to seek a refund of federal or state tax withheld. Since he is being claimed as a dependent he is not eligible for a stimulus check or for education credits himself. His only refund would come from tax withheld.
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