Can I Claim My College Student on My Income Taxes?

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Category: Individual Taxes

Written by Madeline Delanni

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My son turns 19 in April and my ex-husband does not pay child support anymore. My son is now a full-time college student and lives with me. Can I claim him on my tax returns for this year?

I have contributed more than 50% of my child’s support and he has always lived with me. Basically, who gets to claim him?

Answer:

If there's a child support order, somewhere in that order should be direction as to which parent gets to claim the child and when. Once you determine that, if you claim your son as a dependent on your income tax return, he cannot claim herself on his income tax return.

• If an individual is filing his or her own tax return, and the individual can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, the individual cannot claim his or her own personal exemption.

• In this case, your aon should check the box on hia return indicating that someone else can claim him as a dependent. Additional Information:

• • Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
  • This link offers additional information for deciding who claims the exemption. http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq/0,,id=199709,00.html

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