Can my parents claim me and my son?

[mdm123]

During 2019 my son and i lived with my parents, im 24. i was a full time student and also worked full time.  i fully supported myself and my son and did not depend on them financially. I know since i was in collage and 24 they technically can claim me but shouldn't i file my own?  Seems like i will be shorted letting them claim us..

[NCperson]

question: how can you state you 'fully supported yourself" if you lived with your parents?????  what does 'fully supported yourself' mean? did you pay market rent to your parents????  it may be to your (and your parent's) advantage to claim both of you on their return.  For example, if you did not work, there is no child care credit, but for them their would be. 

run through this tool and determine the answer to your question: 

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/whom-may-i-claim-as-a-dependent

go through it two times

1) answer the questions as if you were your parents

2) answer the questions as if you were yourself 

[JohnW222]

From what you report, and if you truly "fully supported [your]self," it doesn't appear that your parents would be able to claim either you or your child.

If you'll work through the logic in the TurboTax Help article “Who can I claim as my dependent?” I think you'll come to the same conclusion. 

[mdm123]

Yes  i did pay rent, part of electricity, renters insurance, tuition, books, bills etc . 

Thanks for your response. 

[JosephF8]

The first question is did you turn 24 in 2019?

If so, then your parents could only claim you if you meet the rules under Qualifying Relative below.

Qualifying child

In addition to the qualifications above, to claim an exemption for your child, you must be able to answer "yes" to all of the following questions.

• Are they related to you? The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
• Do they meet the age requirement? Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
• Do they live with you? Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply.
• Do you financially support them? Your child may have a job, but that job cannot provide more than half of her support.
• Are you the only person claiming them? This requirement commonly applies to children of divorced parents. Here you must use the “tie breaker rules,” which are found in IRS Publication 501. These rules establish income, parentage and residency requirements for claiming a child.

Qualifying relative

Many people provide support to their aging parents. But just because you mail your 78-year-old mother a check every once in a while doesn’t mean you can claim her as a dependent. Here is a checklist for determining whether your mom (or other relative) qualifies.

• Do they live with you? Your relative must live at your residence all year or be on the list of “relatives who do not live with you” in Publication 501. About 30 types of relatives are on this list.
• Do they make less than $4,200 in 2019? Your relative cannot have a gross income of more than $4,200 in 2019 and be claimed by you as a dependent.
• Do you financially support them? You must provide more than half of your relative’s total support each year.
• Are you the only person claiming them? This means you can’t claim the same person twice, once as a qualifying relative and again as a qualifying child. It also means you can’t claim a relative—say a cousin—if someone else, such as his parents, also claim him.