@docmatter58 wrote:
Really? That surprises me. I assumed my student would have better options for student aid if they weren't claimed by me on my return.
Thank you for the info.
You don't have to claim a person who qualifies as your dependent if you don't want to.
However, any person who qualifies to be claimed as a dependent (such as your college-age child) must answer "yes, I can be claimed as a dependent", if they can be claimed, even if they don't want to be claimed, and even if the person who could claim them decides not to. Failing to answer "yes" to that question if they qualify to be claimed might impact certain tax benefits and could be seen as improper by the IRS and financial aid authorities.
It is not always clear-cut that a college student qualifies to be claimed as a dependent, depending on their living situation, tuition, loans, jobs, and other sources of support. (A college student is often a dependent of their parents, but not automatically.) We can talk about that if you have further questions.
