If you are still a dependent then your parents get to use your personal exemption on their return, which lowers the amount of income they are taxed on by $4100. And they still qualify for earned income credit within certain income limits if you are a dependent. Your income does not get entered on your parents' income tax return.
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. (You will not get back anything for Social Security or Medicare withheld.) You will not get the $4100 personal exemption. Be sure that on your own return you say that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return.
If you file your own tax return, saying that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return is very important. If you answer that question in Personal Info the wrong way, you cause your parents' e-filed return to be rejected and they have to file by mail--and you have to file an amended return, which will take months for the IRS to process.
**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.**
