Tax filing for my daughter.

Kiml1 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 06:59:01 GMT

My daughter just turned 22 last month and she’s in college. My husband and I are paying for her tuition and allowances. She sometimes worked part time. Is it better to file her tax on her own or we file her tax as dependent?

Re: Tax filing for my daughter.

xmasbaby0 — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 18:03:27 GMT

If she is your dependent then she must say on her own tax return that she can be claimed---it is not a choice. The rule is if she CAN be claimed she must say on her own tax return that she can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2022 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

They're related to you.
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.

They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
They made less than $4,400 in 20222.
You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Since you can claim your daughter then YOU enter the education credit on your own tax return. Dependents cannot get education credits.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901172-what-education-tax-credits-are-available

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-an-education-credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3262983-who-is-eligible-to-take-the-american-opportunity-tax-credit

MY DEPENDENT HAD A JOB

If your dependent has a W-2 for his after-school job, summer job, etc. you do not include the information on your own return. You can still claim your child as a dependent on your own return. He/she can file his own return for a refund of some of his withheld wages (he won’t get back anything for Social Security or Medicare), but MUST indicate on it that he can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. (Supervise this closely or prepare it for him!)

If your dependent’s earnings were over $400 and were reported on a 1099Misc or 1099NEC then he must file a return and pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.

You might also want to use free software from the IRS Free File versions:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

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Tax filing for my daughter.

Re: Tax filing for my daughter.