Question

The Samsons are trying to determine whether they can claim their 22-year-old adopted son, Jason, as a dependent. Jason is currently a full-time student at an out-of-state university. Jason lived in his parents’ home for three months of the year and he was away at school for the rest of the year. He received $9,500 in scholarships this year for his outstanding academic performance and earned $4,800 of income working a part-time job during the year. The Samsons paid a total of $5,000 to support Jason while he was away at college. Jason used the scholarship, the earnings from the part-time job, and the money from the Samsons as his only sources of support. Can the Samsons claim Jason as their dependent?

Answer 1

The Samsons can likely claim their son Jason as a dependent as he is a full-time student under 24, his earnings and the support they provided are less than half of his total support when accounting for his scholarship.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine if the Samsons can claim Jason as a dependent, we must consider the IRS rules regarding dependents.

Since he is a full-time student, under the age of 24, and lived with his parents for part of the year, he may still be considered a resident for tax purposes, even while at university.

The key factor to consider here is the support test. Scholarships are not considered as support provided by the student, but his earnings from work are.

If the $4,800 Jason earned plus the $5,000 provided by the Samsons represent more than half of his total support for the year, the Samsons may not be able to claim him.

However, since the scholarships typically do not count as the student's support and the amounts from earnings and parents add up to $9,800, which would be less than half of his overall support when including the scholarship, the Samsons can likely claim him.

One should always refer to the current IRS guidelines or consult a tax professional for the most up-to-date rules and regulations.