Question

Carlos and Anna support their 22-year old daughter, Sarah. In 2019, the daughter earned $11,500 last year working in a part time job. Sarah went to college part time in the spring semester of 2019 and full-time in the fall semester (August 20 - December 15, 2019) to complete her degree. Sarah lived at home and her parents provided most of her support. Can Carlos and Anna claim Sarah as a dependent on their 2019 tax return?

Your submission should be in the form of a short tax research memo (i.e., Facts, Issue, Analysis, Conclusion sections). The submission should be a PDF and no more than one page in length, single-spaced or approximately 250 to 500 words.

Answer 1

Introduction

The term dependent means either a qualifying child or a qualifying relative

Analysis of the section of IRS

Qualified child

1. The child must be son, daughter, stepchild, fosterchild, half brother, half sister, brother, sister or step-brother, stepsister or their decendents

2. The child must be

a. 19 years or younger

b. Under age 24 at the end of the year, a student and younger than the taxpayers

c. Any age and permanently disabled

3. The child must have lived with taxpayers for more than half a year

4. The child must not have provided more than half of her own support’

5. Child must not be filing a joint return

A separate return for dependents is required if the dependent below the age of 65 has

1. Earned income of more than $ 12200

2. Unearned income of more than $ 1100

3. Or gross income of more than larger of 1)1100 unearned income or b) more than 11850 earned income plus more than 350 unearned income

Facts

Sara, 22 year old daughter of Carlos and Anna is a student who is supported by her parents. She earned $ 11500 last year from a part time job. Carlos and Anna filers of tax return are in delimma if they can claim sara as their dependent

Analysis

A child aged 19 years or more upto 24 years can oly be claimed as a dependent if:

He/she is a student

He/she does not contribute for more than half of his/her own support

He/she is younger than the taxpayers(parents) who wish to claim him/her as a dependent

Or he/she must be permanently disabled

Also no claiming as dependent if the person below age of 65 years has earned income of $ 12200 or more or gross income of $ 11850 plus 350 or more

In the given case Sara’s age is 22 years and hence she shall be a student who does not contribute to her own support and younger than Carlos and Anna to be a qualifying child

Also she shall have eaned income of less than $ 12200

Conclusion

As, Sara is a student who is fully supported by her parents and is assumed to be younger than Carlos and Anna having earned income of $ 11500 (less than $ 12200) Carlos and Anna can claim Sara as a dependent in their join return or either of them can only claim Sara as dependent if they are filing separate returns