Tax Filing

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
September 23, 2020
2 replies
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I currently attend a Junior College full time while working part-time. I live with my parents but the only expenses that they cover would technically be rent. Should I let them claim me or should I file taxes on my own?

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xmasbaby0

Level 15

You do not "let" someone claim you. If you can be claimed on someone else's tax return you must say so on your own tax return. It is not a choice or a matter of you giving your permission. If you are a full-time student under the age of 24 it is very likely that your parents can claim you as a qualifying child. In My Info when it asks if you can be claimed as someone else's dependent, you say YES.

Please read the criteria and see if your parents can claim you as a qualifying child:

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

• They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4200 (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

**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.**

Opus 17

Level 15

You must check the box that says you can be claimed as a dependent if you can be claimed, even if you don't want to be claimed and even if the person who could claim you agrees not to.

To see if you can be claimed, you will need to do some math. The key question will be, do you provide more than half your own support. (If you provide less than half, it is not necessary for anyone to prove they pay more than half; only that you pay less than half your own support.)

Support is defined in publication 501 and using worksheet 2 on page 15.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

Briefly, support you provide yourself includes:

money you earn that you spend on your own support -- food, clothing, medical care, housing, tuition, and entertainment.
Loans you take out in your own name for tuition also count as support you provide to yourself, because you have promised to pay them back.

Money that you spend on someone else's support (such as a partner or child), or money that you save, does not count as support you provide yourself.

Support provided by your parents includes the value of room and board they provide, tuition they pay, medical care they pay for, including insurance premiums, as well as money they provide for food, clothing, computers, cell phone, and so on.

Add up your total support needs, and determine how much of that you pay for.