First, understand that as an undergraduate college student under the age of 24 there is *NO* requirement for your parents to provide you any support. NOT. ONE. SINGLE. PENNY.
The support requirement is on you the student, and *ONLY* you the student. That reaquirement reads:
If the student did not provide more than 50% of their own support, then the parents qualify to claim the student as a dependent on their tax return.
Now there are only two possible ways that you can have any claim to providing more than half of your own support. Understand that scholarships, grants, 529 distributions, gifts from Aunt Mary, money from mom and dad, and any other "third party income" that you receive *does* *not* *count* for you providing your owe support. The only two possible ways that you can have any claim to providing more than half of your own support "for the entire tax year" are:
1) You have a W-2 job or are self-employed. The money earned and "actually paid" to you during the tax year must be more than the total of all third party support.
2) You the student are the "PRIMARY" borrower on on a *qualified* student loan, and sufficient funds were actually distributed to you during the tax year to justify any claim to providing more than half of your own support. The amount of funds distributed to you *must* be more than the total of all third party support received.
NOTE: When using the worksheet, understand that your costs must be realistic. For example, a $5000/mo penthouse suite isn't going to cut it with the IRS for an undergraduate, I don't care how rich your family is, or how much money you may have actually earned during the tax year. LIkewise, steak and eggs for breakfast and steak and lobster for lunch and dinner every day isn't going to cut the mustard any more than those $180 Michael Jordan shoes that get replaced every 3 months with new ones. So I very deeply and greatly stress that your cost *MUST* be realistic.
It is also perfectly possible for you to earn $250,000 in a tax year and "still" not provide more than half your own support. Remember, the rules are based on "SUPPORT" and "NOT EARNINGS". For example, if you received $80,000 in scholarships, grants and 529 distributions in 2019, that would mean you would have to of spent an "additional" $80,001 in that same tax year supporting yourself to have any claim here to providing more than half of your own support. Now I don't care where you live or attend school on this plant, there is no way on this green earth that anyone can justify it costing a total in excess of $160,000 to support themselves for the entire tax year *as an undergraduate* who is not married and has no children while attending school full time.
So chances are, your parents very well may qualify to claim you.
