Am I "temporarily absent" if I am moved out?

Question

My father wants to claim me on his taxes as a dependent and meets all criteria besides possibly the Residence test. He is telling me that because I am a student I am "temporarily absent" from his residence, despite the fact that I have been moved out for 4 years now and I am never moving back.

Is he right?

Answer 1

No, he is not. Clearly in this case you are no longer resident in his home (assuming that you don't return to his home during semester and summer breaks) and can no longer be claimed as a dependent.

Answer 2

Are you under 24 yrs old and a full time student?
Does he support you at least 50% (Scholarships don't count)

Residency does not necessarily apply to a child for dependent status test. (You can be temporaily absent for Education, Business, Illness) Support and student status do matter. Also you cannot file a joint return (assume you are single).

Are you claiming yourself?

Lot of rules around this topic....

Answer 3

Since you said that all of the criteria are met except possibily the residence test, I will assume that he is supporting you at school. Paying the tuition, room, board, books and spending money and that you have very little income or none.

That being the case, you will not be filing and income tax return and claiming yourself. So why does it matter if he claims you as a dependent (which it seems you are), one more year?

Answer 4

How old are you? If you are over 18, does he still provide over 50% of your support? If you are moved out as in living in the dorms at college, and come home between semesters, then he can still claim you. If however, you are not a student and support yourself, then he cannot claim you. If you work you should file your own return.

Answer 5

Doesn't sound very temporary. You could always call the IRS and ask them. This one is just a little gray.

Or you could just file your own return claiming yourself, and let the IRS sort it out.