@KarenJ- "If your parents only income is social security benefits, they do not have a filing requirement. Social security benefits do not count as income. If they file a joint return, you cannot claim them as dependents."
This is entirely the OP's question/dilemma, and mine as well. If the parents filed jointly, they would owe no tax liability because their entire income is Social Security benefits, and really there's no requirement to file at all.
But, as soon as you claim them as dependents, they cannot file jointly, and must file as MFS. Once you do that, all the sudden (a bunch of) that Social Security income becomes taxable, and each parent will then have tax liability.
The root of the question is: does claiming them as dependents change their status as non-filers if their entire income is Social Security benefits?
