Full time student vs Part time student at the college

[taxmen2021]

Hi,

If my child this year will be a Full time student at the college for the Spring semester ( February 1- May 17) and then will need only to take 6 credits in the Fall semester ( September -December)  to graduate and will take classes online as Part time student. Will the child be, for the tax purposes, treated as Full time or Part time student? May  the child be claimed as a dependent on the parents tax return ( all other dependency tests are satisfied)?

[Bsch4477]

The child will not be a full time student as the IRS defines it as having to be full time for 5 months. If the child doesn’t have more than $4,700 (2023 amount) in income and you provided more than half of their support the child can be claimed as a qualifying relative. 

[DaveF1006]

Yes, your child may be claimed as a dependent if age 19 or a full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year. To be considered a full-time student, the child must be enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full time and must be a student for at least five months during the year.

The entire Spring Semester qualifies for the 5-month requirement so assuming your child is under the age of 24, you may claim your child as a dependent. 

@taxmen2021 

[taxmen2021]

Hi Dave, thank you for your answer. Spring semester is only 4 months ( February 1-May 15), but for tax purposes has to be a 5 months as a Full time student. Does the summer or winter breaks  count as a time at the college ? I am getting frustrated about this.

[taxmen2021]

Thank you 

[Hal_Al]

 Q. Does the summer or winter breaks  count as a time at the college ?

A. No. 

Q. May  the child be claimed as a dependent on the parents tax return (all other dependency tests are satisfied)?

A. Simple answer: No. 

As explained at you other post (https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/college-education/discussion/re-if-you-were-a-full-time-student-fo...), there are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). 

She cannot be your QC, because she does not meet the the 5 month rule for being a FT student. If she had more than $4700 of income, she cannot be your qualifying relative dependent, either. 

[taxmen2021]

Thank you.

[Hal_Al]

Q. I am getting frustrated about this.

A. Yes, you essentially missed out on having a qualifying dependent by 1 day. The school coulda/shoulda  started classes one day sooner.  Was there any other school activity going on in late January that would qualify her as being "in school" in January, for example, student orientation?   

[taxmen2021]

No. This year is different. Last year 2023 she started at the end of January.