Our son was a senior in high school & graduated June 2023. In September he turned 19 & began Marine boot camp. Can we still claim him as a dependent?

[DoninGA]

Yes you should be able to claim him under the Qualifying Child rules since he was a full time student in 2023.

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.

[Hal_Al]

Q. Our son was a senior in high school & graduated June 2023. In September he turned 19 & began Marine boot camp. Can we still claim him as a dependent?

A. Yes.

He meets rule #2 (age) because he was a full time student (high school) for parts of 6 calendar months (more than the required 5 months). 

He meets rule #3 (residence). For military members, time in training (boot camp, AIT) counts as a temporary absence from your home, the same as going away to college.

It's unlikely his military pay amounted to more than half his support, so he probably meets rule #4 (support). 

The support value of the home, provided by the parent, is the fair market rental value of the home, including the period of temporary absence,  plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. The IRS has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See: http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf

[fourstreads]

Thanks! I do have to see how much he made but I doubt it as well. Appreciate the input.