Dependents

Tee

My daughter was a full time student for spring 2024 and she was dependent during that time. She is now a teacher and I was wondering if I am able to claim her on my taxes as my dependent, although she was not in school for the entire school year.

Riley

Hi Tee!

One of the main changes that happens when a child is no longer a student is the qualifying age of that child. The IRS states that to be a qualifying child, they need to "Be under age 19 or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled". Note that you can claim a dependent under 24 if they are a full-time student, but they must be under age 19 if they are not.

One of the best ways to determine if you may claim someone as a dependent is to use the interview tool that the IRS has on their website. This will ask you a series of questions and will tell you if you can claim someone as a dependent. That is found at this link: https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

To view more information of the qualifications to claim a dependent, the IRS has a great article here: https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/dependents