Non-dependent adult working from home living with senior citizen parents

[BlueThorness]

I am an adult and am responsible for filing my own taxes, as I provide most of my own support.  However, my son and I live with my senior citizen parents, rent free.  I recently heard that they may be able to claim the fact that I work from home 3 days a week on their taxes, since I am doing so in a room in their home and using their internet.  Since I am not a dependent to them, nor pay rent, is this true?  I would love to help them in any way that I can, since they are helping me so much.

[Rangers44]

Hi, I'm a little confused with "claiming the fact that I work from home 3 days a week" on their taxes.

One, they would have to be paying more than 50% of yours and your son's support, which sounds like it is not possible.

Two, if you are not aware what their income situation is, you may not even know whether they have any taxable income to report in the first place and not have any tax liability.

There is no benefit in them trying to claim you and or your son, as they would need to know your SSN and dates of birth to make that attempt, which may not be justified.

[AR_CPA · Accepted solution]

Hello Blue Thorness, 

Hope you're doing great!

So basically you're saying you work from home and you're asking if your parents can claim a deduction for Office in the Home for your work.  No that is not possible.  If you were renting or you owned the home, then it is a possibility you might be able to claim on your taxes any kind of deduction or credit. 

It is nice that your parents are helping you out! 🙂

[BlueThorness]

From what I have heard, people are allowed to claim their work space and Internet use as as home business expenses. I'm just not familiar with the fine details. I know, for certain, that my parents definitely have tax liability and had to pay taxes last year, because of this. However, they cannot claim myself or my son as dependents, because I am paying for everything except for rent and utilities.

[BlueThorness]

Thank you for clarifying this for me!