@BruteForce wrote:
Thanks for the advice.
My daughter was very displeased with me for claiming her as dependent, but the expense numbers seem to support my claiming her. It is very hard to know for certain however, because she is very immature and refused to work with me. She will not share any of her financial information and her school will not give it to me either. I'm not sure how I am supposed to know for certain if she supports herself over 50% if I can't have access to the necessary information. It's very frustrating. I guess I'm just supposed to make a best guess? Do you have any tips about how to deal with a situation like this?
If she can be claimed, she must answer yes that she can be claimed, even if she does not want to be claimed. Answering "no" to get more tuition benefits or a recovery rebate will probably be considered tax fraud.
If you file by mail and claim your daughter as a dependent, the IRS will send letters to both of you to start an investigation, and will ask for proof from each of you on the support question. You will have to think about whether all that is worth it.
