If you are a minor, your parents will qualify to claim you as a dependent regardless of your earnings. If under the age of 19 on Dec 31 of the tax year, you could earn a million dollars and still qualify as their dependent. Note the key word here is "QUALIFY". It doesn't matter if they actually claim you or not. Basically, if *you* do not provide more than half of your own support for the entire year, then your parents qualify to claim you. Period. (There's other criteria too. But I assume you actually live with your parents.)
If you will earn less than $12K of W-2 income from all sources for the entire tax year, then filing exempt shouldn't be an issue. However, if you earn more than that having filed exempt, not only will you pay the taxes you owe on the amount that exceeds $12K, you will also pay a fine for having claimed exempt when you did not qualify to do so.
Also understand that you are still required to pay Medicare and Social Security. You're not exempt from that.
Now if self-emploiyed and you earn more than $400 through self-employment, then you are required to file a tax return and you will pay the self-employment tax at 15.3% on the amount of SE income that exceeds $400, no matter what.
So you might want to reconsider filing as exempt, because if you earn more than $12K of W-2 income or more than $400 of SE income, it's gonna cost you.
