You are not providing enough details for us. If you are a student under the age of 24, then your parent can claim you as a dependent. Or....even if you are not a student, if you had less than $4700 of income and were supported by your father, you can be claimed. If you CAN be claimed, then if you file a tax return of your own, you MUST say on your own return that you can be claimed as someone else's dependent. It is perfectly okay for you to file a tax return in order to seek a refund of tax withheld from your paychecks.
CAN I FILE A RETURN IF I AM A DEPENDENT?
If you can be claimed as a dependent on your parents’ return, you can still file your own return so that you can receive a refund of taxes withheld. Your W-2 will show federal tax withheld in box 2, and state tax withheld in box 17. (You will not get back anything for Social Security or Medicare withheld.) Be sure that on your own return you say that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/children-dependents/help/do-i-need-to-file-my-own-taxes-if-i-m-a-d...
Filing your own return will not get your father audited, nor will he be notified that you filed. However---if you file a return saying that you cannot be claimed, and you CAN be claimed, you can cause problems for him that will make it impossible for him to e-file.
Is there some reason you do not want your parent to know you are filing a tax return?
Do you meet the criteria to be claimed as someone else's dependent? Are you a qualified child or qualified relative? This is what your father has to go by:
WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?
You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2023 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:
Qualifying child
- They're related to you.
- They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
- They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
- They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
- They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
- They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
- They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.
Qualifying relative
- They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
- They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
- They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
- They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
- They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
- They made less than $4,700 in 2023.
- You provided more than half of their financial support.
When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.
Related Information:
I SHOULD HAVE SAID I COULD BE CLAIMED AS A DEPENDENT
Did you say you could not be claimed as someone else’s dependent, but it turns out your parent(s) can claim you? Now your parents’ return is being rejected when they e-file, or it will be rejected. That means your parents must print, sign, and mail their return. They can still claim you as a dependent, but they cannot e-file now. Not even if they wait for you to amend, so they should not wait for you to do that.
Your part in fixing this is to wait until your return has been fully processed and you have received you refund. THEN you need to file an amended return, called a 1040X, to change the way you answered that question in My Info about whether you can be claimed as someone else’s dependent.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
