@danilol Your daughter can file a tax return to seek a refund for amounts that are in box 2 of her W-2 or box 17 of her W-2. Box 2 shows federal tax withheld; box 17 shows state tax withheld. She can do this even if you claimed her as a dependent. But she MUST say on her own tax return--in My Info-- that she can be claimed as someone else's dependent.
The amount of $12,550 is the standard deduction for a single person who is NOT being claimed as someone else's dependent. If she can be claimed as a dependent then her standard deduction can be lower than that amount. She may or may not get back all of the amounts from box 2 or box 17. She will not get back any of the Social Security or Medicare that was withheld.
The standard deduction amount for an individual who may be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer cannot exceed the greater of $1,100 or the sum of $350 and the individual’s earned income (not to exceed the regular standard deduction amount).
It sounds like she was a W-2 employee. She is not "required" to file a tax return if she earned less than the standard deduction amount of $12,550, but if she does not file a tax return, she may be just giving up money that she could get back. Young adults (and older ones too) usually like to receive money, so she has a good reason to file a tax return to seek a refund.
If she ever works as an "independent contractor" then she would be required to file if she earned even $400; the criteria and filing requirements are different for W-2 employees and independent contractors.
**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.**
