I don't want to claim my son as a dependent and answered "Yes" that he paid more than half his living expenses, but Turbotax keeps changing the answer to "No".

[dporter22]

Son is a college student with earned income of $7700.  If I can't claim him as a dependent then he can get the education credits which I don't quailfy for due to the income limits.  How do I get Turbotax to to accept my answer that he paid more than half his expenses so that I can't claim him as a dependent?   Just deleting him on my tax form doesn't work because his tax form asks if someone else "can" claim him.

[DanaB27]

If your son actually paid more than half of his own support then he won't qualify to be your dependent and you can delete him from your return. Please see Worksheet for Determining Support to help to check if he actually paid more than half of his own support.

Please be aware if he meets all requirements to be your dependent then he is your dependent. You cannot just choose to claim or not claim him. Please see Who can I claim as my dependent? for details.

If he truly isn't your dependent then he will have to select that he cannot be claimed as a dependent on his return:

1. Login to your TurboTax Account 
2. Click “My Info” tab in the black bar on the left side of your screen.
3. Click “Edit” next to the name.  
4. Scroll down to the first question in Section 3: “A few other things we need to know”
5. Select "No" to the question "Someone else can claim me as a dependent on their tax return"

[dporter22]

Thanks for responding but I'm not sure I completely understand your comment that you can't just choose to claim him or not.  If I understand correctly it's not required to to claim someone just because you can.  That's why on his form it asks "Can someone claim you?" and then "Will they claim you?", it's also why you can delete someone even if they are a dependent.

So I guess my confusion is why does Turbotax not allow me to answer "Yes" that he paid more than half his expenses and therefore disqualify him as a dependent, and even if he did "qualify" as a dependent why does Turbotax still consider him a dependent if I don't claim him and he chooses "No" for "Will they claim you?"

It seems that even if he qualifed as a dependent, if I don't claim him he should be able to receive the education benefits since I'm not receiving the other child tax credit nor the education credit.  I've "given up" my credits so that he can have them, but Turbotax won't let me do that.

[DanaB27]

Yes, you can kind of choose if you claim your son as a dependent or not by putting him on your return or not. But your son will have to select "can be claimed by someone" on his return if he meets all the requirements to be your dependent, no matter if you choose to claim him or not. 

Please use Worksheet for Determining Support to ensure that he actually paid more than half of his own support. If he did than just delete your son from your return and your son can select "no" to "can be claimed as a dependent".

Please be aware that if your son chooses "yes" to "can be claimed as a dependent" and then chooses "No" for "Will they claim you?" it will still put a checkmark on Form 1040 next to "Someone can claim you as a dependent". Since for the IRS it is important if someone can be claimed according to the rules and not if someone actually is. 

Your son will only be able to qualify for the education credits if he cannot be claimed by someone as a dependent. Please use Worksheet for Determining Support to ensure that he actually paid more than half of his own support to decide if he is your dependent or not. 

[dporter22]

Thanks.

Can you explain why Turbotax will not allow me to answer "Yes" that he paid more than half his expenses?

[DawnC]

It won't allow a YES answer there.  Your options are NO (keep your dependent listed on your return) or remove the dependent.  See the worksheet posted above and here.   There are a lot of costs that make up support.    If you don't qualify to claim him, remove him and he will answer NO to the 'can someone claim me' question.   You don't have to pay half in order to claim him, but he can't have provided more than half from his own funds.   

If you can claim him but choose not to, he still has to answer yes to the 'can someone claim else me' question.    The next question (will someone claim me?), he can say NO to.   But he is not going to qualify for an education tax credit if he only has $7700 of earned income as he will have no tax due.   If his income was higher or he also has scholarship income, he could possibly qualify for a credit.  A full-time unmarried student, under age 24, whether a dependent or not,  is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working. You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans, or student loans & grants. You usually must have actually paid tuition, not had it paid by scholarships & grants. 

The question that you are asked during the dependent interview is not the same question that he gets asked after saying that he is a dependent.     Please See Opus' explanation about the AOTC credit and support and the post right under that one.  

[dporter22]

If it won't allow a "Yes", why is it an option?  It should allow a "Yes" and then indicate that the child is therefore not qualified to be a dependent.

On his form if he answers that someone can claim him, but then answers that they won't, shouldn't it allow him to get any education credits since the parent is not claiming him or taking any credits?

Also, what is the status of transferred GI Bill benefits in regards to determinining whether he paid for more than half his expenses?  He paid his tuition and living expenses with the benefits, so does that count as paying more than half his expenses, or do GI Bill benefits not count somehow?  The IRS publications mention that scholarships and grants don't count, but it doesn't mention non-taxable GI Bill tuition and housing benefits.

Thanks

[dporter22]

It still won't let me answer "Yes".

[DawnC]

A full-time unmarried student, under age 24, whether a dependent or not,  is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working.    But GI Bill money does count for support for paying for education.   Even if you can't claim him (because of his GI bill income) and he claims himself, he is not going to qualify for the non-refundable education credits because he does not have enough earned income.   

Whether it's a child, a friend or a relative you support, the term 'support' is generally defined as what you spend on a person to provide the basic necessities of life. While the specifics may be debatable in certain circles, here's what the IRS considers typical for the purposes of a tax return.

Support includes:
- Food
- Lodging (even if your mortgage is paid off)
- Clothing
- Education (including the GI bill)
- Medical and dental care (including insurance and supplementary Medicare premiums)
- Recreation
- Transportation and similar necessities

Support does not include:
- Life insurance premiums
- Funeral expenses
- Federal, state, or local income taxes or Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on a person's own income
- Scholarship grants
- Income made by a disabled person in a sheltered workshop

Generally, if this person provides more than half of his or her own support, you cannot claim him or her as a dependent.

[ld1995]

@Dawnc

Hello!  I saw your response regarding dependent.  In TT, it asks if child made greater than $4300.  If answering yes, where does the worksheet come into play?  Just trying to confirm i can't claim my graduated student who received a job in June of last year and made well above that amount.

[DawnC]

The worksheet won't come into play if your son is over 19 and not a full-time student.   You can't claim a relative that is over 19 (unless they are disabled), not a student and made over $4300.  If he had made less than $4300, you would use the support worksheet to see if you paid for over half of his support to determine whether or not he is a qualifying relative.   

Who can I claim as my dependent?   @ld1995

I am assuming he was over 19 and not a student in 2021.   When you indicate that, TurboTax will ask how much he earned and if over $4300, TurboTax will tell you that he does not qualify to be your dependent.   You won't be asked about support in that situation.   

[ld1995]

Thanks!  She was a full time student until May 2021 , under 24 so does that change things? If so, how do i calculate.

[Carl]

If the student was under the age of 24 on Dec 31 of the tax year, there are no income limits and the student's income does not matter. The student could earn a million dollars and still qualify as your dependent. There's no way possible the student provided more than half of their support for the entire tax year, if they only earned $7,700 during the whole tax year.