Ful-time student definition

[Questionguy101]

Publication 17 says "to qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar year....a full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff..."

If a child was only a full-time student in Spring semester of 2006 which lasted from January 2006 to May 2006, does the child qualify as a full-time student for tax purpose in 2006?

If you count the number of days. it was less than 5 full-months. But the rule also says 'during some part of each of any 5 calendar months'. So the Spring semester did last from during some part of January 2006, February 2006, March 2006, April 2006 to during some part of May 2006. So it is 5 months there.

It's very confusing.

[jainen]

You can count

>>It's very confusing<<

You can count to five as well as anyone, and you are not confused.

[Koss]

Full Time Student

I agree that based on the definition used by the IRS, the child you are describing is indeed a full time student for tax purposes.

The phrase "some part of each of any five calendar months" is actually written in a language called Congressese. Like Latin, this language is almost never spoken; it is only used in formal documents that are written by scribes at the Vatican... wait, I mean, the Capitol...

Anyway, in English, the requirement is:

the kid has to be a full time student for at least one semester or two quarters.

One quarter doesn't cut it.

Burton M. Koss

[GIMoe]

...does the child qualify

...does the child qualify as a full-time student for tax purpose in 2006?

__________________

Yes that absolutely qualifies them as full-time student for tax purposes.

[winnie]

Yes - qualifies

If that doesn't qualify them as a dependent, I have a whole lot of past incorrect tax returns out there!

[gkaiseril]

Full Time is Defined by School Definiton

Full Time Student is defined by the school the child is attending. If the school says 3 classes ifs full time, the student is full time if registered for at least 3 classes, anything less than that is not full time. Other schools may have a 4 or 5 class minimum for full time status.