AnswerSeeker wrote:
- quote -

You might want to research the situation regarding residency and source
income in each state (Michigan and Alabama) before committing to this.
I am not familiar with these states, other than they are not community
property states; however your overall tax bill (federal and state
combined) might be impacted in various ways by your choice of federal
filing status.

He received some grants in 2007 and took out student loans
- quote -

Yes.

[...]
- quote -

Yes, use the amount that the school charges other dormitory dwellers for
the same room and board. The son may want to find out more about
whether some or all of the meals and lodging provided will be considered
taxable compensation, the university should be able to tell him this.
If he is not your dependent in 2008 and has taxable income, he may be
able to benefit from various education-related credits and deductions on
his own return.

-Mark Bole

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"AnswerSeeker" wrote:

- quote -

Correct. For your upcoming questions about the son, it doesn't matter that
you and she don't live together if you file a joint return.

- quote -

What matters is whether he provided more than half his support. The same
will be true for 2008. There's a thorough discussion of what constitutes
support, plus a worksheet, in IRS Publication 501.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

--
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My wife and I got married in October 2007. Due to my work situation,
I work and live in Alabama and she lives in Michigan. She has a 22
years son who is a full time undergrduate student in Michigan. For
2007, we plan to file a joint return. My wife is on workers
compensation, so her work comp income is not taxable (?). She
provided some tuition and living expenses to her son in 2007 (I did
not provide to his support). Her son found a part time job working
about 10 hours a week in the last 3 months of 2007, so his income was
not much. He received some grants in 2007 and took out student loans
to pay for the tuition, college room and board, and living expenses.
Based on what I read in pub 501, he qualifies as dependent for the age
and residency tests, but I am not sure of the "support" test. What
sources are included to calculate total support for dependent? I
think my main question is the student loans. Are student loans part
of the total support?

I assume that since we plan to file a joint return, we can claim my
wife's son as dependent if the support test is met (even if I live in
a different state and didn't provide support for my wife's son).

Also, for 2008, he may get his room and board for free if he get a job
as RA (resdeint assistant) in his dormitory. If so, does the "free"
room and board need to be included as part of the total support? If
it needs to be included, how would we calculate the amount?

Thank you for your responses in advance.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >