My 18 yr old son and his mother dispute who can claim him as dependent?

Question

My son is 18, is in college and will get more of a tax refund if he is not claimed as a dependent on anyone else's tax return. His mother (my ex) wants to claim him so she gets more of a deduction. In spring of 2006 he was in high school and lived 1/2 time in each of our houses. In fall of 2006 he was in college and his tuition room & board was paid for by funds that he received as a gift from his grand father.

Who wins?

Answer 1

You don't say how much he made, so we don't know whether he is right about who gets the greatest benefit from claiming him. You don't say how much his college expenses were, so it is not obvious whether he paid over 1/2 of his support. You said spring. I suppose that means January through May. You said fall. I suppose that means September through December. Where was he June through August?

The first question is how much did each of you contribute to his support during the year. If anyone contributed over 1/2, that person wins.

If nobody did, then you need to negotiate. The obvious question is which eligible person gets the greatest tax benefit. Let that person claim him and share the benefit.

The details on who wins are on page 27 of Pub 17.

Answer 2

There is not enough information to give a definite answer. The answer depends on whether the student paid for over half of his own support.

If he received money as a gift and used this money to pay for education, it is considered support provided by himself. Did this, together with any other money that he earned that he spent on himself, total more than 50% of his support? If so, he is not a qualifying child and cannot be claimed by a parent. He should claim himself, and take the education credits for the educational expenses he paid.

If he did not provide over half of his own support, he cannot claim himself. If he lived with one parent more than six months (including absences for college), then that parent can claim the student. Otherwise, the parents choose which parent claims the child, and if there is a dispute between the parents, the parent with the higher income claims the child.

There is a worksheet to determine support in Publication 17.

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf

Answer 3

Your son cannot claim his own exemption if another taxpayer is entitled to claim him. From the information given either parent should be entitled to claim him assuming he did not provide more than half his own support. If the exemption is not claimed by the parents it is lost.

Answer 4

He can release his dependency to his mother and still file and pay no federal tax on $ 5,150.00 in income. Even if he files and takes is own dependency the FAF people will look at parent's returns for two years so the question is moot. There is also the quaint rule in place that if he is under age 19 and a student he can not take his own dependency anyway. When a student is away at college or school they are still considered as living at home for tax purposes. Whoever takes the dependency also get the education credits for the student even if paid for by loans or whatever. If it all sounds confusing and complex then welcome to my world of tax preparation.

Answer 5

Well there are no laws set in place about situations like this, so you will have to battle it out on your own. I don't know how much money your son made, but if he really want that larger refund, tell him to file his takes before his mother, that way she can't claim him. But keep in mind that dependency can affect things such as health insurance and financial aid for your son.

Answer 6

Have your son file his taxes taking his own exemption using the "he who files first, wins" rule. Normally it is such a pain to resolve that your ex will get very angry at you and your son but not appeal to the IRS for relief. Who really should claim the exemption is a pretty complex issue for which agreement is normally the best but if that is not likely be the first to file.