Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

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March2009
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:04 pm

Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by March2009 »

I didn't claim my college kid as a dependent in 2020. It was close but I could prove the college kid provided more than 50% support. This allowed the student to receive stimulus checks that otherwise would not have occurred based on my income as my dependent.

Now for 2021, I'm planning to claim the college kid as my dependent; I can prove I provide more than 50% support in 2021. This provides me a $500 tax credit.

My question is will this raise a red flag and possibly cause an audit of my kid's taxes in 2020 (why she claimed herself in 2020 but not 2021)? We can defend 2020 but I would rather not trigger an audit if I can avoid it. Any advice is appreciated.
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RyeBourbon
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Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:20 pm
Location: Delaware/Philly

Re: Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by RyeBourbon »

You can't file incorrectly to avoid triggering an audit. Just file correctly and don't worry about it. You have the documentation to back up your returns.
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Asyouwish
Posts: 370
Joined: Tue Aug 04, 2020 6:20 am

Re: Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by Asyouwish »

My question is will this raise a red flag and possibly cause an audit of my kid's taxes in 2020 (why she claimed herself in 2020 but not 2021)? We can defend 2020 but I would rather not trigger an audit if I can avoid it. Any advice is appreciated.
No, the IRS does not do look backs for comparison like that. People’s circumstances change every year. Get married, get divorced, adopt kids, move, change jobs, go to school, drop out of school. Etc. you get the picture.

File a complete and correct return with confidence.
basspond
Posts: 1500
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 3:01 am

Re: Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by basspond »

This happened to us in 2019 and 2020 and haven’t been audited yet.
Topic Author
March2009
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2020 7:04 pm

Re: Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by March2009 »

Thanks for the replies. This forum is really helpful. :beer
In bear markets, stocks return to their rightful owners. - J.P. Morgan
pshonore
Posts: 8212
Joined: Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:21 pm

Re: Didn't claim college kid in 2020 but will in 2021

Post by pshonore »

March2009 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 4:08 pm I didn't claim my college kid as a dependent in 2020. It was close but I could prove the college kid provided more than 50% support. This allowed the student to receive stimulus checks that otherwise would not have occurred based on my income as my dependent.

Now for 2021, I'm planning to claim the college kid as my dependent; I can prove I provide more than 50% support in 2021. This provides me a $500 tax credit.

My question is will this raise a red flag and possibly cause an audit of my kid's taxes in 2020 (why she claimed herself in 2020 but not 2021)? We can defend 2020 but I would rather not trigger an audit if I can avoid it. Any advice is appreciated.
You don't have to provide any support to claim a qualifying child. Rather the student cannot provide more than 50% of their support. Another person (grandparent, total stranger, etc) can provide all support and you can still claim him as long as the other tests are met (residency, age, student status, etc)
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