Dependent or not

[william095]

Hi experts, I have a son of 19 years old who started attending college. Last year he lived in a dorm (out of state) for 4 months and also had a small income for his part-time job.

I'm wondering if I need to include him as a dependent like before or not. He had his own income (which is small) with W2, so I think his income also needs to be reported.

My guess is that he may get a refund if he files his own tax report, but I would like to know which is the best.

[DawnC · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can and should claim him.  As long as he is not supporting himself, you can still claim him as a dependent.   Being away at school is a temporary absence, and he is considered to be at home, living with you, his parent(s), for tax purposes.

And yes, he should file his own Form 1040 and get a refund of whatever is in Box 2 of his W-2.  Make sure he marks the box that says Someone else can and will claim me on their tax return.  

[ee-ea]

Run the Interactive Tax Assistant

[Mike9241]

There is no requirement to claim a dependent, though it's usually in the taxpayer's best interest to do so. Your claiming him does not affect his taxes. If he qualifies as a dependent, regardless of whether you claim him or not, he must indicate on his return that he can be claimed as a dependent.