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Level 1

Solved

Can we claim our 18 year old child that is still in high school?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
18 replies
29 views

No text available

TurboTax Deluxe Online

Best answer by Hal_Al

Yes. A child is still a "Qualifying Child" dependent if under 19 (not 18) or under 24 if a full time student. High school counts as being a student.

There are two types of dependents, Qualifying Children and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit. Only a QC qualifies you for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a Qualifying Child (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled

2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

Show previous replies

cathymcrae

Level 2

Ok we live with my boyfriend can he claim my son?

Hal_Al

Level 15

Yes & no.
If they lived together all year, he may claim him as a dependent for the dependent deduction. But because they are not related, your son is not a qualifying person for EIC or Head of Household filing status.

cathymcrae

Level 2

What proof will a family member need in order to claim my son and thank you very much

cathymcrae

Level 2

Hello

Hal_Al

Level 15

This is not live chat; sometimes you have to wait for an answer. When claiming a dependent, you submit no proof with your filing. The proof comes later, if audited, and can take various forms. Here's some references
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.thebalance.com/claiming-same-dependent-audit-risk-3193030">https://www.thebalance.com/claiming-same-dependent-audit-risk-3193030</a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/qt/Dependents-Audits.htm">http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/qt/Dependents-Audits.htm</a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.eitc.irs.gov/EITCCentral/f886-h-dep.pdf">www.eitc.irs.gov/EITCCentral/f886-h-dep.pdf</a>

Hal_Al

Answer

Level 15

Yes. A child is still a "Qualifying Child" dependent if under 19 (not 18) or under 24 if a full time student. High school counts as being a student.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a Qualifying Child (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled

2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.

3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year

cathymcrae

Level 2

There is nowhere on the form to qualify my 18 year old in high school there is no where on the form to claim my child do I claim him as earned income credit or a dependent or both

ds1270

Level 2

My software stipulates that a child at age 17 is not considered a qualifying child. The correct age is 19. Can I have my software corrected? The return I have done regards a dependent child of 17 to be an OTHER dependent incorrectly. Please respond so I can prepare a corrected return.

Thank you

Daniel St John

DoninGA

Level 15

@ds1270 wrote:

My software stipulates that a child at age 17 is not considered a qualifying child. The correct age is 19. Can I have my software corrected? The return I have done regards a dependent child of 17 to be an OTHER dependent incorrectly. Please respond so I can prepare a corrected return.

Thank you

Daniel St John

You may have misunderstood something on one of the pages for a dependent.

A child age 17 or older is not eligible for the Child Tax Credit. They are eligible for the Other Dependent tax credit.

Your child can be claimed as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules if the are under the age of 19. Or if they are a full time student under the age of 24. Or at any age if they permanently and totally disabled.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

Bsanchez

Level 2

What IRS FORM CAN I USE TO CLAIM MY 18 YR OLD HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FOR 2022 IN MY 2023 TAXES

xmasbaby0

Level 15

@Bsanchez You enter your child as a dependent in My Info. You need to enter her name, date of birth and Social Security number.

There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support. Say NO to that question.

If your child is 18 you do not get the child tax credit but you can get the $500 credit for other dependents.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**