My son is 26 and full time student ( just went back to school) I take him as a dependent but can’t get the tax credit for him being a student ?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

If his gross income in 2024 was less than $5,050 and you provided over one-half of his support then you should be able to claim him as your dependent under the Qualifying Relative rules and be eligible for the $500 Other Dependent credit.  You should also be able to claim any education expenses you incurred on his behalf on your tax return.

To be a Qualifying Relative -

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.
2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household.
3. The person's gross income for the year must be less than $5,050 (social security does not count) in 2024
4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.
5. The person must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S., Canada, or Mexico resident for some part of the year.
6. The person must not file a joint return with their spouse with the following exception -
You can claim a person as a dependent who files a joint return if that person and that person’s spouse file the joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

If TurboTax (TT) is allowing you to claim him as a dependent (under the Qualifying Relative rules; he is too old for the qualifying child rules) but is not giving you the tuition credit, the most likely explanation is that your income is too high (> $90K, $180K married filing jointly) to qualify for the credit. 

If that is the case, it may be better for him to claim the tuition credit on his return.  You will lose the $500 Dependent Credit, but the tuition credit may be worth as much as $1000 to him depending on his student status, tuition paid and whether the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) has already been claimed four times in the past (by either him or his parents).  He must be a half time or more, undergraduate degree candidate. The AOC is usually worth as much as $2500, but is only 40% refundable ($1000 max). 

The less generous  Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) is worth up $2000.  It has the same income limit as the AOC, but there is no limit on amount of times it can be claimed, but it is not refundable (it can only reduce an actual tax liability; unlikely if he qualifies as your dependent).