Dependent and College Credits

[S T]

Another one of those crazy questions on whether a "child/son" will qualify for dependent, of course Parent's think he does - but I am having difficulty

Here are the facts as I know them after an 1 hour interview and reviewing documents

Son age 23
Lived at Home and Supported by Parents for 7 months year 2011
Son In College Aug 2011 - Dec 2011 - 9 Units (guess) sometimes can be considered full time vs part time???
Son has a W-2 Form for $12,000 working for 2011
Community College - so Tuition and Supplies are very low- but do have some that Parents Paid

Sidepoint: Son did not qualify to be added to Medical Insurance Coverage as he was not enrolled in 12 units - { full time by Insurance Standards) and could not obtain the certicate from the College.

I am thinking the Son does not qualify due to income, 9 units, and also W-2, but of course Parents are arguing the point.

Anything specific - or is there a way to claim Son as Dependent for 2011

Thanks for your reviewing

Sandy

[Lion]

College

Full time will be as defined by college, so check their web site. If you pass that hurdle, then it's on to child not providing more than half his support. Here in pricey Fairfield County, CT, $12,000 wouldn't do that. But your mileage may vary. If you reach this point, put what you know down on a support worksheet and have parents come in to fill in the missing items and review with you (or email sheet to them for them to fill in and send back). Sounds like you'll need to show them in black & white, or have the sheet for your own file if parents convince you son is 2011 dependent.

[Koss]

Full-time student

It doesn't sound like he was a full time student at any time during the year.

As Lion noted, full time is defined by the college. Most colleges have a bright line definition of full time. Either he was full time for some part of five months or he wasn't.

On your fact pattern, that test is fatal. If he wasn't a full time student, then he can't be a qualifying child. And he can't be a qualifying relative because his income is waaaay too high.

I think I know why they're babbling about 9 credit hours, claiming that it is somehow considered full time.

That's probably the threshold to qualify for financial aid.

Forget about scholarships or the Pell Grant.

Without a minimum number of credit hours, you can't even get a student loan.

For certain types of financial aid, the key threshold is you have to be taking 75% of the full time load.

Unfortunately, that's not applicable to the age test for a qualifying child.

BMK

[S T]

Thanks Lion and Koss, my thoughts are much the same

So now going through the "hoops' of supplying more info and worksheets to the T/p to convince me that we can claim the "Son" or at least for me to disprove that the "Son can be claimed" - the 7 months bothered me on the get go and then the $ 11K wages was just more, and then the 9 units was "frosting on the cake".

I did not believe so, after the 1 hour of conversation - no matter what the T/p was telling me and I certainly gave the "All In" questions.

So now - the T/P has the dependency support and checking on the "College" for what is considered "Full time" and giving me the transcript of registration to see if that will qualify by units.

Last time I did this last year on another T/p - the Answer was "NO"

Just needed some "support"

Thanks as always

Sandy

[Lion]

Cake

Full time or not is the whole cake and not just the frosting. If he's not full time per the college's own definition, you don't have to go any further due to his age and income. If he wasn't a full time student for some part of five months, the parents cannot claim him with the other facts you listed. Save yourself some time and just wait for the parents to provide you (or not) with hard copy confirmation from the college of the student's full time or part time status for 2011.

[Dusty2004]

Full time or at least half time?

It doesn't sound like he was a full time student at any time during the year.

As Lion noted, full time is defined by the college. Most colleges have a bright line definition of full time. Either he was full time for some part of five months or he wasn't.

On your fact pattern, that test is fatal. If he wasn't a full time student, then he can't be a qualifying child. And he can't be a qualifying relative because his income is waaaay too high.

I think I know why they're babbling about 9 credit hours, claiming that it is somehow considered full time.

BMK

Sorry - I read the question to be about the education credits not about being a dependent.

Dusty

[S T]

Dusty,

Aren't you referring to the fact that the parents can in fact claim the "student" as a dependent and the factors of the gross income, age, etc do not dis-qualify the dependency exemption, and the half-time comes into consideration when only looking at the AOC, or other Education Deductions/Credits??

Sandy

[taxea]

Isn't there a 1098T from the college?

[S T]

This post has not been about 1098T forms, but more whether or not a "Student" can qualify as a dependent on the parent's form and the amount of college units that are required.

If I can get to the point of qualifying the "Student" as a dependent then the next issue would be to deal with the 1098T form and associated "paid" tuition costs.

Dusty has not replied to what her question was regarding "half-time"

Sandy

[taxea]

There was quite a bit on conversation about whether he even qualifies as a full-time student. Pardon me to responding to that issue. However, part and partial as to whether he qualifys as a dependent is whether he is a full time student, isn't it?

[oceanlovin'ea]

I think you should check with the community college and see what they consider full-time. If they consider 9 credits to be full time then son can be a dependent.

Sometimes extra little details that really don't have any significance can throw us off track. I don't think it matters what the company will pay for insurance has any bearing on whether he is considered a full time student or not. (I thought children could continue to be carried on parents insurance until later in 20's anyway)

Linda, EA

[S T]

Dependent College Student

Well guess I have my answer, obviously one the T/P won't like

Community College considers a full time student to be 12 credits - we only have 9 credits and barely the 5 month rule IRS is talking about Aug 2011 - Dec 2011.

So along with the $ 12K income student earned , only in the house 7 months,

I just don't see this as a possibility of the parents claiming the "son" as a dependent, even though they have supported 50% or more based on worksheets provided.

For reference, the College did NOT issue a 1098T

As for the medical insurance, it was Tricare and they require after age 21, that the "child" must be enrolled in a full course of study at an approved instituion of higher learning and be dependent for more than half of their financial support. The 9 Units instead of 12 Units also prevented this.

Thanks for reviewing,

Sandy