Student dependent income

[Tami]

How much may a student under age 24 and a full time college for six months in 2014 earn and still be claimed by the parents?

[TAXNJ]

Pub 17

How much may a student under age 24 and a full time college for six months in 2014 earn and still be claimed by the parents?

Reference: PUB17 (dependents chart) as it applies to your specific situation

[dtlee]

Probably rather infinite

The key for a Qualifying Child is the amount contributed by the child towards support, but how that money was derived is not as important.

I had s student who earned over $16,000. His parents insisted that he put all of it in the bank. They showed me the bank statements. They felt they were responsible for him and wanted his earnings to give him a start on future savings. He contributed zero towards his own support.

Likewise, I imagine such a student could earn zero, take out college loans to pay for the cost of tuition and fund other costs from accrued savings (perhaps from a prior inheritance). With a high enough cost of education, such a student would earn nothing but not likely be a dependent even if living in the parents home. I had one close to this scenario a few years ago.

[Snaggletooth]

No statutory answer

Tami, your question is worded as if there is some magic number. Unfortunately, there is not. Each situation survives or fails on its own set of "facts and circumstances."

I believe there may be such a "safe" number to earn, maybe the amount of a dependency deduction (in 2014 was $3950). I would be comfortable claiming the child if his income did not reach that number. Any amounts in excess of that, however, can be up for grabs. What jeopardizes most situations is if the child earns so much money that the parents can no longer claim they furnish more than 50% of the support.

[TAXNJ]

Good suggestion

Tami, your question is worded as if there is some magic number. Unfortunately, there is not. Each situation survives or fails on its own set of "facts and circumstances."

I believe there may be such a "safe" number to earn, maybe the amount of a dependency deduction (in 2014 was $3950). I would be comfortable claiming the child if his income did not reach that number. Any amounts in excess of that, however, can be up for grabs. What jeopardizes most situations is if the child earns so much money that the parents can no longer claim they furnish more than 50% of the support.

Original poster apply your specific situation: Reference page 15 - Support Test example

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf#page15

Does it help?