college and taxes

[FLA]

How does this work- your chid earns more than the maximum for you to be able to declare them as a dependent but they are starting college and you want to be able to take advantage of tax breaks? Can you still take those breaks? The maximum income was low when I googled, like $3200.

[disneysteve]

How does this work- your chid earns more than the maximum for you to be able to declare them as a dependent but they are starting college and you want to be able to take advantage of tax breaks? Can you still take those breaks? The maximum income was low when I googled, like $3200.

That doesn't sound right. I'm not an accountant but I believe you can claim a child as a dependent as long as they lived with you for at least half the year and you provided at least half of their support. They need to be under 19 or under 24 if they are a full-time student. They can have income but it can't provide more than half of their support. And you have to be the only one claiming that child. If you are divorced, for example, your ex-spouse can't also be claiming them.

[FLA]

thank you, I'll look it up again

[kork13]

That doesn't sound right. I'm not an accountant but I believe you can claim a child as a dependent as long as they lived with you for at least half the year and you provided at least half of their support. They need to be under 19 or under 24 if they are a full-time student. They can have income but it can't provide more than half of their support. And you have to be the only one claiming that child. If you are divorced, for example, your ex-spouse can't also be claiming them.

This is correct. When I was in college, I was earning around $10k/yr, but my parents still claimed me on their taxes throughout college. I made the mistake my freshman year of filing taxes on my own (my parents claimed me as well), and I got a lengthy letter from the IRS explaining that I was a criminal and a cheat -- short story, it made more sense for my parents to claim me, and because they provided for at least half of my needs and I lived with them while not at college, they were able to do so.

[Petunia 100]

How does this work- your chid earns more than the maximum for you to be able to declare them as a dependent but they are starting college and you want to be able to take advantage of tax breaks? Can you still take those breaks? The maximum income was low when I googled, like $3200.

There are two kinds of dependents: qualifying child and qualifying relative.

A qualifying child can have any amount of income and still be your dependent. They must also be under age 19 or under age 24 if a student. If they don't pass the age test, they cannot be your qualifying child.

If your son/daughter does not meet the tests to be a qualifying child, they can still be your qualifying relative. However, the income of a qualifying relative cannot be more than the standard deduction.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html

Edit: Doh! Correction, the income of a qualifying relative cannot be more than the personal exemption. For 2017, that amount is $4,050.00