Yes, you can claim your 19 year old full-time colleges student as your dependent. The reason she does not get a "full refund" is that when you claim a dependent, the dependent does not get the $4050 personal exemption--you get that on your own tax return. The exemption lowers the amount of income that is taxable. So anything over her $6300 standard deduction is taxable income for her. The rule is if she "can" be claimed she must say on her return that she can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
**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.**
