Do I qualify as an independent

[Ethan71166]

Hello first question I’ve asked. I graduated college this year and May and I’m 22 years old. I was unemployment until August where I now have a good paying job. My parents and I want me to file as an independent, but we don’t know if I would qualify since my parent have provided for more then 50% of my living expenses once they you factor in my college expense this year. Can I still file as an independent or do I have to file as a dependent since I qualify as a dependent. 

[xmasbaby0]

The tax return you need to be concerned with right now would be for tax year 2019.  So graduating in May 2020 is not relevant.  If you are trying to file a 2019 tax return you consider the criteria for 2019.  No one will be filing a 2020 return until early in 2021.  

If you were a full-time student in 2020 and did not begin to work until late in the year, it is possible that your parents could still claim you as a dependent for 2020.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4200  (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

[Ethan71166]

Thanks for the information but I already filed 2019 as a dependent. I was talking about 2020 and if I can qualify as an independent then or do I have to qualify as a dependent because I meet the dependent definition.

[DoninGA]

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@Ethan71166 wrote:

Thanks for the information but I already filed 2019 as a dependent. I was talking about 2020 and if I can qualify as an independent then or do I have to qualify as a dependent because I meet the dependent definition.

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For tax year 2020, if you are not a full time student and age 19 or older in 2020, if your gross income in 2020 is  $4,300 or more then no can claim you as a dependent.

[Ethan71166]

I am a full time student. And I meet the requirements for my parents to claim me as a dependent, but I want to file as an independent and for my parents not to claim me. Can I still do that or do my parent have to claim me as a dependent?

[DoninGA]

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@Ethan71166 wrote:

I am a full time student. And I meet the requirements for my parents to claim me as a dependent, but I want to file as an independent and for my parents not to claim me. Can I still do that or do my parent have to claim me as a dependent?

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You cannot say you are not a dependent just because you want to.  If you are eligible to be claimed as a dependent even though you are not being claimed on anyone else's tax return you still must indicate on your tax return that you are a dependent.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

[Carl]

How you file your 2019 tax return has no bearing on your potential status *TODAY*. The simple fact is, you were a full time student in 2019 and your parent's qualify to claim you as a dependent on their tax return, if specific criteria is met.  If:

- On Dec 31 of that year you were under the age of 24 and;

- *YOU* did *NOT* provide more than half of your own support for the entire tax year, and;

 - You were enrolled as a full time student for *any* *one* *semester* that started in the tax year, and;

 - You were enrolled in s course of study that will lead to a degree or credentialed certification, and;

 - You were enrolled in an accredited institution of higher learning, then:

Your parents qualify to claim you as a depdendent on their tax return.  Period. End of Story.

Now understand what this means. First, it *DOES* *NOT* *MATTER* if your parents actually claim you or not. The key word here is *QULAIFY*. So if they qualify to claim you, then you MUST select the option for "I can be claimed on someone else's tax return" when completing your own 2019 tax return. Again, it *does* *not* *matter* if your parents actually claim you or not.

When it comes to support, there is *NO* requirement for your parent's to provide you any support. Not one single penny. The support requirement is on you, and *ONLY* you.  That requirement reads:

"If the student does not provide more than half of their own support for the entire tax year, then the parents qualify to claim the student as a dependent on the parent's tax return."

Be aware that all third party income *does* *not* *count* for you providing your own support. Third party income includes scholarships, grants, 529 distributions, money from mom and dad, gifts from Aunt Mary, etc. There are only two possible ways that you could provide more than half of your own support.

1) You have a W-2 job or are self-employed and earned a sufficient amount of income during the tax year to justify a claim to providing more than half of your own support. That earned income also *MUST* be more than the total of all third party support received. Finally, your support cost *must* be realistic and resonable. No $5000/mo penthouse suite with steak and eggs for breakfast everyday, followed by steak and lobster for lunch and dinner. That would *not* be realistic or reasonable for an undergraduate college student.

All of the above information will also apply to your 2020 tax return which you will not file until next year in 2021. Since you did not acquire gainful employment after graduation until August, I would have doubt that you provided more than half of your own support for the entire 2020 tax year. But I also could not state that it's impossible either. So if on your 2020 tax return (that you complete next year) you do not indicate that you can be claimed on someone else's tax return, make sure you can prove that y ou provided more than half your own support for the entire 2020 tax year, in case you are audited on it.

Three golden rules to keep in mind when dealing with the IRS.

1) You are guilty until proven innocent.

2) The burden of proof is on the accused (that's you!) and not the accuser.

3) If it's not is writing, then it flat out *did* *not* *occur*.

[Hal_Al]

Graduation year

If he (the student) is (under 24) was a student for at least 5 months and lived with the parent for more than half the year, and did not provide more than 1/2 his own support for the whole year, the parent can still claim him. 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

The $4200 income limit ($4300 in 2020), you may have heard about only applies to standard dependents (Qualifying relatives)

The rule is that a child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” dependent, regardless of  his income, if:

1. he is a full time student under 24 for at least 5 calendar months of the year (graduating in May usually means you meet the 5 month rule)
2. he did not provide more than 1/2 his own support  (scholarships are considered 3rd party support and not support provided by the student). 
3. lived with the parent (including time away at school) for more than half the year

So, for graduation year, it usually hinges on  "Did he provide more than 1/2 his own support in 2020.

The support value of the home  provided by the parent  is the fair market rental value of the home plus utilities & other expenses divided by the number of occupants. IRS Publication 501 on page 20 has a worksheet that can be used to help with the support calculation. See http://apps.irs.gov/app/vita/content/globalmedia/teacher/worksheet_for_determining_support_4012.pdf