EITC - do I claim my 18yr old child who works part-time in college?
My daughter turned 18 in November and is a freshman in college. She's been working part-time at the campus bookstore since September, making about $190 a week. I'm a single mom and have always claimed her for the Earned Income Tax Credit in previous years. She still lives with me when not in the dorms, and I pay for most of her expenses including tuition, food, car insurance, phone, etc. I'm really confused about the EITC rules this year. Can I still claim her even though she's working? She made around $2,800 total in 2024. I provide well over half her support, but does her income disqualify her as my qualifying child for EITC purposes? I'm worried about losing that credit because I really depend on that refund money every year.
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Grant Vikers
Yes, you can still claim your 18-year-old daughter for the EITC! The rules for claiming a qualifying child for EITC purposes specify that your child must be under 19 at the end of the tax year OR under 24 if they're a full-time student. Since your daughter is 18 and a full-time college student, she meets that requirement. The fact that she works part-time doesn't disqualify her either. There's no income limit for a qualifying child for EITC purposes. What matters is that she lived with you for more than half the year (temporary absences for school count as time living with you), and that you provided more than half her support, which you did.
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Amaya Watson
•Thanks for the info! Does it matter that she'll be filing her own tax return for her bookstore job? Will that create any problems with me claiming the EITC?
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Grant Vikers
•Your daughter can absolutely file her own tax return for her job income. The key is that she cannot claim herself as a dependent on her own return. When she files, she'll need to check the box indicating that someone else can claim her as a dependent. This won't interfere with your EITC claim at all. The IRS understands that many students work while in school but are still dependents of their parents. Just make sure you have her Social Security number correct on your return as that's how the IRS matches dependents to tax returns.
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Giovanni Martello
I was in a similar situation last year and found this great tool at https://taxr.ai that really helped me figure out my EITC eligibility with my college student. It asks you simple questions about your dependent's age, student status, and residence - then breaks down exactly why you qualify. Saved me tons of research time and confirmed I was eligible for the full credit!
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Savannah Weiner
•Does it check other tax credits too? My kid is 17 and I heard the Child Tax Credit rules are different from EITC.
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Levi Parker
•I'm skeptical of online tools. How accurate is it compared to what a real tax professional would tell you? Don't want to rely on something that might miss special cases.
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Giovanni Martello
•Yes, it definitely checks other credits too! It covers Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, Education Credits and more. It specifically highlights the differences between EITC and Child Tax Credit age requirements. As for accuracy, I was skeptical too at first, but it uses the exact same rulebook the IRS and tax professionals use. The difference is it explains everything in plain English instead of tax jargon. I actually compared its answers with what my cousin (who's a CPA) told me, and they matched perfectly. It's especially good at catching those special situations where most people get confused.
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Levi Parker
I tried that taxr.ai tool after posting my question here, and wow - it was super helpful! It asked me about my daughter's student status and living situation, then specifically showed me the EITC rules that applied to my case. It confirmed I could claim her even though she works, and it even caught that I qualified for the American Opportunity Credit for her education expenses which I totally would have missed! The explanation was so much clearer than the IRS website. It even showed me exactly which forms I needed and what to watch out for when filing. Definitely recommend it if you're confused about dependent-related credits.
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Libby Hassan
If you need to contact the IRS to confirm anything about EITC eligibility (which can be confusing), I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to get through to an agent quickly. I spent THREE DAYS trying to reach someone at the IRS about my EITC questions last year and kept getting disconnected. With Claimyr, I got through in about 15 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It was such a relief to speak to an actual IRS representative who confirmed my 19-year-old student still qualified for EITC. Saved me tons of stress since the EITC rules can be so complicated with older kids.
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Hunter Hampton
•How does this actually work? Seems kinda sketchy that they can get you through when the IRS line is always busy.
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Levi Parker
•Yeah right. Nobody gets through to the IRS quickly. This has to be some kind of scam or they're just connecting you to some random call center, not actual IRS agents.
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Libby Hassan
•It works by using technology to navigate the IRS phone system and hold your place in line. They call you back once they've reached an agent so you don't have to stay on hold for hours. It's essentially a "skip the line" service but you're definitely talking to real IRS agents. No, it's definitely the actual IRS! When they connect you, you're speaking with official IRS representatives who can access your tax records, answer specific questions about your situation, and provide guidance that's legally binding. The service just handles the frustrating waiting part - once connected, it's no different than if you'd waited on hold yourself for hours.
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Levi Parker
I need to eat my words about Claimyr. I was so wrong! After getting nowhere with the IRS for days trying to sort out my EITC questions about my college student, I gave it a try out of desperation. Within 20 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who pulled up my previous returns and confirmed that yes, I could claim my working 18-year-old for EITC since she's a full-time student under 24. The agent even caught a mistake on my previous year's return where I missed out on education credits! Totally worth it just for that info alone. Sorry for being so skeptical before - sometimes good things actually do exist!
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Sofia Peña
Make sure your daughter doesn't check the box saying she can claim herself as a dependent when she files her taxes! My son did that last year and it created a huge headache - our returns got flagged and delayed our refund by 3 months. The tax software he used automatically checked that box and he didn't notice.
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Amaya Watson
•That's a really good point! I'll make sure to talk to her about that before she files. Did you have to file an amended return or did the IRS just contact you about the discrepancy?
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Sofia Peña
•The IRS sent us both letters asking for clarification. We had to send in some documentation showing I provided more than half his support (tuition receipts, etc). We didn't have to file amended returns, but our refunds were held until the issue was resolved. My advice is to either have her wait until you've filed your return claiming her, or better yet, help her with her tax filing to make sure it's done correctly. Most tax software has a specific question about "Can someone claim you as a dependent?" and she needs to select "Yes" to that question.
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Aaron Boston
Just to add another point - remember that for EITC, your daughter needs to have lived with you for more than half the year. Time away at college counts as temporary absence so that's fine in your case. But also double-check if your income falls within the EITC limits since they change every year.
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Sophia Carter
•This is super important! The income limits for EITC with one qualifying child for 2024 (filing in 2025) are around $46,560 if filing as head of household. If you make more than that, you won't qualify regardless of your daughter's status.
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Nina Chan
One thing to keep in mind is that even though your daughter can file her own return for her bookstore income, she likely won't owe any federal taxes since she only made $2,800 (well below the standard deduction). However, she should still file if taxes were withheld from her paychecks - she'll probably get a full refund of any federal taxes that were taken out. Also, since you mentioned you're a single mom, make sure you're filing as Head of Household rather than Single - this gives you a higher standard deduction and potentially more favorable tax brackets. You qualify for Head of Household status since you're unmarried and have a qualifying dependent living with you for more than half the year.
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