Yes, if you live in your parents' home rent free, that is a type of support that your parents have provided to you. Providing a living space does have value and your parents may figure that support in their determination as to whether to include you as their dependent.
Your portion of the grocery bill is your expense. In other words, if your parents were to claim you as a dependent, they would not be able to include your portion of the grocery bill when calculating whether they provided at least half of your support.
To claim a child as a dependent, the person doing the claiming has to answer yes to all of the following:
- Are they related to you? The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
- Do they meet the age requirement? Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There's no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
- Do they live with you? Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply.
- Do you financially support them? Your child may have a job, but they cannot provide more than half of their own support.
More information about dependents can be found at the following link.
Regarding your health insurance, we don't have enough information to provide a thorough response; however, given your age, generally you don't have to be a dependent on your parents' tax return in order to be covered under their health insurance.
@AcerbicRead
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