Housing rent paid for a student

[mathewManoj]

I paid fully for my daughter's rent in 2024. Can this be included in the return?

[xmasbaby0]

Room and board or rent are not qualified education expenses.  Sorry.

[mathewManoj]

My daughter will be filing her own return since she had a W2 in 2024, but will I be able to still have her as a dependent in my Married filing jointly return?

Also, my son did not have a W2 last year, does he need to file separately? I will be having him as a dependent in my joint return as well. 

[Vanessa A]

How old is she?  How much did she earn?  

You cannot add your children's W-2 to your tax return.  They must put in on their own return. 

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

• Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
• Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
• Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
• Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
• Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
• Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year
• Has less than $5,050 in income (not counting social security)

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

• Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
• Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
• Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
• They did not provide more than half of their own support (social security does not count)
• They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund
• Have a social security number that is valid for employment

[xmasbaby0]

"Also, my son did not have a W2 last year, does he need to file separately?"

Did your son have any other taxable income?   What does he have to enter on a tax return?   We have no information about him; you have not mentioned his age, whether he was a student; etc etc.

Who has to file?

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Do-I-Need-to-File-a-Tax-Return%3F

[mathewManoj]

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

• Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
• Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
• Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
• They did not provide more than half of their own support (social security does not count)
• They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund
• Have a social security number that is valid for employment

All of the above are true. I did not understand what is meant by, they did not file a joint return?

Daughter - 22, son -18, Full time students

[mathewManoj]

"Did your son have any other taxable income?   What does he have to enter on a tax return?   We have no information about him; you have not mentioned his age, whether he was a student; etc etc."

My son was a fulltime student last year. He is 18. He only has a 1098T from college.

[ThomasM125]

You son would likely not have to file a tax return but that would depend on whether his scholarship income as reported in box 5 on his Form 1098-T is more than his education expenses reported in box 1. If so, that would represent taxable income to him. If he had that, he can use this link to find an IRS worksheet he can use to see if he needs to file a tax return.

@mathewManoj

[xmasbaby0]

If your son had no income for 2024 he has no reason to file a tax return.   Use the education credit for him on your own return since he is a qualifying child dependent on your return.

As for the mention of a joint return---that refers to married couples who file married filing jointly.  

That would not apply for your son.

[mathewManoj]

Thank you Thomas.

And my daughter who also was a full time student in 2024. She is 22

She had a W2 for $2200, based on her 1098T, since her tuition was less than her scholarship, I believe her income will be around $1650 from that. Considering these two incomes, she will need to file a return individually right?

If yes, will I still be able to have both of them as dependents in our married filing jointly return?

[KrisD15]

No, if her income is 2,200 wages and 1,650 scholarships, she will not meet the filing threshold and she will not need to file.

Scholarship income is considered earned for the standard deduction. 

If tax was withheld, she may want to file to get the tax refunded. 

Yes, you can still claim her as your dependent on your return. 

You might consider having her claim more scholarship if you are eligible for an education credit. 

If your income does not eliminate your eligibility to claim an Education Credit, and there is at least 4,000 in tuition, fees, books and supplies relating to your daughter, you can have her claim 5,650 in scholarships and you claim 4,000 expenses for the credit.  Her income of 7,850 would still be lower than the filing requirement for dependents. 

HERE is a link with filing requirements

HERE is a link about education credits