There are two boxes on the child's personal information section. 1) CAN you be a dependent that must be checked if another tax payer could claim you even if they did not actually claim.
And 2) WERE you claimed by that tax payer.?
Yes to 1 and no to 2 does NOT allow the child to claim himself, but does allow him to claim certain educational credits that normally can only be claimed by the taxpayer that CAN claim him.
For a 17 year old it makes not difference how much he earns as long as he does not pay more then half of his own support which includes food, housing (fair market rental value) and other items of support. His money that goes into a bank is not support.
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
