Can I still claim child for head of household status for my dependent child?

[jkawar1]

My dependent child graduated from college in May 2017. He is 23 and lived with me for more than half of the year.

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

If you can claim him as a dependent, you may claim him for Head of Household (HoH) filing status. If he does not qualify as a dependent; he is  also not a qualifying person for HoH.

Graduation year

If he/she was a student (under 24) for at least 5 months and lived with you for more than half the year, and did not provide more than 1/2 his own support for the whole year, you can still claim him. Be sure he knows you're claiming him, so he doesn't claim himself. He can only be claimed once. But, he can "file taxes" without claiming his own exemption.

The real question is who should be claiming him in this "transition" year to adulthood. You two have to agree on who is going to claim his exemption. Each should do their taxes both ways and see which way the family comes out best.  Even then, you have to meet the rules. The rule is that a child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” dependent, regardless of  his income, if:

1. he is a full time student under 24 for at least 5 calendar months of the year (graduating in May usually means you meet the 5 month rule)

2. he did not provide more than 1/2 his own support  (scholarships are considered 3rd party support and not support provided by the student). 

3. lived with the parent (including time away at school) for more than half the year

So, it usually hinges on  "Did he provide more than 1/2 his own support in 2017.

The support value of the home you provided is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

[DoninGA]

You should be able to claim the child as a dependent under the Qualifying Child rules if the child was a full time student for any portion of 5 months during the year and also meets the other requirements under the rules.  Then you should be able to have Head of Household filing status if you are Single or considered unmarried by not living with your spouse at any time in the last six months of the year and meet the other requirements for Head of Household.

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.

See this TurboTax support FAQ for Head of Household - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household

[AnnK1]

My full time college child (under 24) claimed themselves on her taxes. Had a part time job. She filed taxes to get fed taxes withheld back. 
I,  parent, provided more than half of support for the year.  Can I still claim head of household? 

[Hal_Al]

Q. My full time college child (under 24) claimed themselves on her taxes. Had a part time job. She filed taxes to get fed taxes withheld back. I,  parent, provided more than half of support for the year.  Can I still claim head of household? 

A. No. You must have a dependent, for you to be HoH.  There's an exception, but it doesn't apply in your case.

But, most likely (almost certain), your daughter erred in in claiming herself when she filed her return. So, you should file your return, claiming head of household and her as your dependent. You will not be able to e-file and will have to mail in your return.

In the mean time, your daughter should file an amended return, to check the box that says she can be claimed as a dependent.  You do not need to wait for her to do so. You can file now, your paper return will be processed. 

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). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test.

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

So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he spent on support. Money he put into savings does not count as support he spent on himself.

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants.

Furthermore, there is a rule that says IF somebody else CAN claim him as a dependent, he is not allowed to claim himself. If he has sufficient income (usually more than $12,950), he can & should still file taxes. In TurboTax, he indicates that somebody else can claim him as a dependent, at the personal information section.  TT will check that box on form 1040.

Even if he had less, he is allowed to file if he needs to get back income tax withholding. He cannot get back social security or Medicare tax withholding.

With the tax law change, effective 2018, most students will get the same refund whether they claim themselves or not. The personal exemption has been eliminated and the standard deduction increased. However, you only qualify for an education credit or deduction, if you are not a dependent.