filing for child who goes to college in another state

[ir899onv]

Our son (19) goes to college in MA while we live in VA.  This year for the first time we did not include him as a dependent in our 1040.   During 2022 he had an internship/research assistantship both in MA for which he was paid ~12k.  Federal and MA taxes were deducted on both incomes.   He spent ~10mos in MA and ~2mos in VA but there wasn't a VA-based income.  Does he need to file VA-taxes?

[pjoberb]

He only needs to file state income taxes in the state where he was employed.  Also, did you pay for any portion of his college in 2022?  If yes, then you should include him as a depended because you likely pay a much high tax rate than he will have since he only made $12K.  My daughters go to college at our (my wife's and I) alma mater which is in a different state then us and my older daughter worked for the university.  But because we paid for their college, we are still allowed to claim them as dependents even though they are basically living elsewhere (out of state) for the majority of the year.

[ErnieS0 · Accepted solution]

Yes, your son has to file a resident Virginia return and a non-resident Massachusetts return. Going to college is considered a temporary absence, so your son remains a Virginia resident. Virginia residents are taxed on income earned everywhere.

Virginia will give you a credit for tax paid to Massachusetts.

[ir899onv]

Thanks for your response - followed your advice last year.  This is the update for FY 2023. 

Want to confirm this year he should file  VA - resident, MA - non-resident, NY - non-resident?   Reason I ask is NY is not where he is going to college.  Does that change anything?

[VA] we live, son (20) not included as dependent

[MA] son goes to college, research assistantship
     paid federal and MA taxes
[VA] son's internship 1 [4weeks]
     paid federal and VA taxes
[NY] son's internship 2 [10weeks]
     paid federal and NY taxes

[SharonD007]

Yes, you are correct.  Your son will file a resident VA tax return, and non-resident tax returns for MA and NY. For additional information, review the TurboTax Help articles: Why would I have to file a nonresident state return? and How do I file a nonresident state return?

[xmasbaby0]

@ir899onv Just to reinforce what one of the other replies in this thread said.......Your 19 year old full-time student CAN be claimed as a dependent on your tax return, so when he files his own returns he MUST say on his returns that he can be claimed as someone else's dependent.   

If he is a full-time student he can be claimed as a qualified child on your tax return until the tax year in which he turns 24, no matter how much he earns.  And....the person/parents who claim him as a dependent are the ones who get to enter education credits on their own tax return.  Dependents cannot get education credits.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901172-what-are-education-tax-credits

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2023 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?