Homeschooled Children Considered Full Time Student?

[debster222]

Does my home schooled child qualify as a full time student for tax purposes? She turned 19 this year but has not finished high school.

Thanks for any help on this.

[elliemaejune]

You probably need to talk to a tax professional. It might have to do with the compulsory school age in your state; if it's 18, she might not be considered full-time even though she hasn't graduated.

Or not, which is why you need a tax professional.

[Theodore]

According to H&R Block, "A dependent is a full-time student if the dependent is enrolled in a school for the number of hours or courses considered by the school to be full-time during some part of at least 5 calendar months during the year..." 12 credit hours or more is generally considered full-time, and the age limit on this is 24.

[debster222]

So I guess that means a brick and mortar building other than my house.

[Theodore]

No, because homeschools can still legally count as private schools. Some states may be a bit ambiguous on this, but for those you can sign up under an umbrella school. As for the credit hours, just do work equivalent to that number of credit hours.

This may also be of interest, it's upcoming legislation:
http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/Nation ... efault.asp