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kdanner35
New Member

Can I claim that I paid for half of my living expenses if my parents claimed me? I'm 20 and lived with them. Not a student. Did pay for personal things when I worked.

 
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3 Replies

Can I claim that I paid for half of my living expenses if my parents claimed me? I'm 20 and lived with them. Not a student. Did pay for personal things when I worked.

What was your 2018 income?
kdanner35
New Member

Can I claim that I paid for half of my living expenses if my parents claimed me? I'm 20 and lived with them. Not a student. Did pay for personal things when I worked.

$2103.42 was all I earned

Can I claim that I paid for half of my living expenses if my parents claimed me? I'm 20 and lived with them. Not a student. Did pay for personal things when I worked.

No. "Paying for personal things when I worked" is very unlikely to add up to more than half your support. But that's not the deciding factor. The real question is: did you have more than $4150 of income for the year. 

Another thing you should be aware of: if you are a wage earner (and no other significant income),  it no longer matters whether you claim yourself or not. Your tax (or refund) is the same either way.

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each. 

You cannot be a QC because you are over 18 and not a full time student. So the question is can you be a standard dependent.

A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year

2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4150 ($4,050 in 2016-17)

3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico

5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own

6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

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