@MICKEY79 wrote:
I apologize for not being clear. My daughter was 18 in 2020 and is a full time student with both earned and unearned income.
I do pay over 50% of her expenses but I was looking at having her claim herself as a dependent ( and I would NOT claim her). Because of the Stimulus credit (and Kiddie tax rules and education credits) this results in a larger refund than if I claimed her as dependent on my return.
She cannot claim herself if you *can* claim yer even if you do not claim her - the tax law does not permit that.
In fact there are special questions just for that in the personal information section: 1) CAN you be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer?; and 2) Were (or will you be) claimed by that taxpayer?
If #1 is yes then the student cannot claim them self.
If #1 is yes and #2 is no, then the student still cannot claim them self but there are certain educational credits normally claimed by the parent that the student can claim. That is the only difference.
And the "kiddie tax" applies whether the child is claimed or not. Being a dependent or not does not change that if the kiddie tax is triggered.
**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.**
