Does the IRS consider both parent and child total wages for the dependent rule?

Hey tax people! I'm trying to figure out the rules for claiming a dependent. My mom makes about $25,000 a year, and I'm 19, a full-time college student making around $9,500 working part-time. Mom wants to claim me as a dependent on her taxes, but we're confused about how the IRS determines the "providing more than 50% support" rule. Does the IRS look at both our incomes combined when figuring out if she provided most of my support? Or is it just about what she actually paid toward my expenses vs what I paid myself? Really appreciate any help sorting this out!

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18 comments

Fiona Gallagher

•8M

The 50% support test looks at who actually paid for the dependent's expenses, not just comparing incomes. Your mom needs to have contributed more than 50% of your total support costs for the year to claim you. Support includes housing, food, clothing, education, medical expenses, transportation, and other necessities. The key is tracking who actually paid for these expenses, not just who earned what. For example, if your total support cost was $20,000 for the year, your mom would need to have provided over $10,000 of that. As a 19-year-old full-time student, you meet the age requirement for being a qualifying child dependent (under 24 for students). The income test only applies to qualifying relatives, not qualifying children, so your $9,500 income doesn't disqualify you automatically.

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Fiona Gallagher

•8M

You've got it right - it's about who paid the actual expenses, not just income amounts. If your mom paid more than half your total support, she can claim you regardless of your income. For proof during an audit, keep records of major expenses like rent payments, tuition, insurance, utility bills, and estimates of food costs. Calculate the total value of the housing (fair rental value of your space plus utilities) and determine what percentage your mom covers. Bank statements, receipts, and canceled checks are helpful documentation. For shared expenses, you'll need to reasonably allocate what portion was for your support.

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Thais Soares

•8M

I went through this exact situation with my son who was working while in college. I found this amazing resource called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand the dependent rules completely. It analyzed our situation and confirmed I could claim him despite his income. The system asked me questions about who paid for what expenses and then gave me a clear breakdown of the support test calculation. It showed me that even though my son had income, I was still providing over 65% of his total support when considering housing, insurance, and education expenses.

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Thais Soares

•8M

The tool was incredibly accurate for my situation. It specifically addresses student rules, explaining that full-time students under 24 can be claimed regardless of their income as long as they don't provide more than half of their own support. It walks you through each requirement with simple explanations. I did claim my son based on the guidance, and my return was accepted without any issues. The best part was that it pulled relevant IRS rules and showed exactly how they applied to our situation. It wasn't just generic advice but tailored to our specific numbers and living arrangement.

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Axel Bourke

•8M

I was skeptical about using taxr.ai but decided to try it after posting here. Honestly blown away by how helpful it was! It walked me through calculating exactly what portion of support I was providing for my daughter vs what she covers herself. Turns out I was overthinking it - the system showed me I was providing about 72% of her support when factoring in the fair rental value of housing, health insurance, and the meal plan I pay for. The tool gave me a detailed breakdown I can keep for my records in case of an audit. Definitely claiming her this year with confidence!

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Aidan Percy

•8M

If you're still confused after getting advice here, you might want to speak directly with the IRS. I had a similar dependent situation and spent DAYS trying to get through to someone. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through exactly how the support test works and confirmed that it's about actual expenses paid, not income earned. They explained that even if my daughter earned money, as long as she didn't use that money to provide more than 50% of her own support, I could claim her. The conversation gave me way more confidence than just reading online.

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Aidan Percy

•8M

It's actually pretty simple - Claimyr uses technology to navigate the IRS phone system and wait in the queue for you. When they reach a human agent, you get a call back. It's not skipping the line, just having their system wait instead of you sitting on hold. It's definitely legitimate. I was skeptical too but after waiting on hold myself for hours previously, I was desperate. The service calls the IRS, navigates through all the prompts, waits on hold, and then calls you when they reach a live person. I got through in about 15 minutes that particular day, but I understand wait times can vary depending on when you call.

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Norman Fraser

•8M

I need to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I needed clarification on this exact dependent situation with my son who earns income. It took about 35 minutes (not 15, but still WAY faster than my previous attempts), and I got connected to an actual IRS agent who was incredibly helpful. She explained that my son's $11,000 income doesn't disqualify him as my dependent since I'm paying for housing, insurance, and most of his expenses - easily over 50% of his support. The agent even emailed me a support worksheet I can use to document everything. This cleared up so much confusion and was worth every penny just for the time saved not sitting on hold.

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Kendrick Webb

•8M

One thing nobody's mentioned is that your mom should calculate the actual dollar value of all support. List every expense related to your support (housing, food, utilities, tuition, books, clothing, medical, etc.) and figure out the total amount. Then determine how much she paid vs how much you paid from your own money. If you're using student loans for education expenses, those count as support YOU provided, not your mother - that trips up a lot of people. Same with scholarships (those are considered support provided by a third party, not by either of you).

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Kendrick Webb

•8M

Student loans are indeed considered support provided by the student even if a parent cosigns, because the student is ultimately responsible for repaying the loan. This is a common misunderstanding that causes problems during audits. For Parent PLUS loans, those DO count as support provided by the parent because the parent is legally responsible for repaying them, not the student. This distinction is important when calculating the total support. Another thing people often miss is that qualified tuition paid directly by the parent to the educational institution always counts as support from the parent.

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Fiona Gallagher

•8M

Yes, you should include the full tuition amount in the total support calculation. The scholarship portion counts as support provided by a third party (not by either you or your son). So when determining if you provided more than 50% of support, the formula would be: (Amount you paid) ÷ (Total support including full tuition) > 50% The "total support" denominator includes everything: full tuition (including scholarship portion), housing, food, medical, etc. from ALL sources.

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