FWIW, our situation is apparently very different from others on this forum, so I think no one should compare what your CPA said with what my CPA said. I believe it is not different interpretations but rather different facts. @SimpleLife, you feel you did the ethical thing, and based on your set of facts, you probably did. But I would never intentionally violate IRS rules and am confident that, based on our unique situation, the way we did our taxes was completely legal and ethical. (It also meant that we paid more, not less, in taxes than we would have had we claimed our son as our dependent. It did benefit our son, but he still paid a considerable amount in taxes). Now that I better understand the rules, I can see why others are being advised differently by their own CPAs. Different facts.