Daughter in college

[londonbeck]

My college daughter has a part-time job where she makes around $10,000. She does not pay for over half of her college living expenses, etc. Should I be claiming her on my tax return as a dependent? OrShould she file herself single and I do not claim her?

Thanks

[JaredS_CPA]

Hello londonbeck,

You can file a return for your daughter whether or not you claim her as a depedent. In fact, according to this article, you must file a return for her. Assuming your daughter had taxes withheld from her paycheck, you will want to file a return in order to get those taxes back in a refund.

You need to consider a couple things when deciding to claim her as a dependent or not. Being in college, I assume she is 18 or older where the other dependent credit available to you will only be $500. Not claiming her and allowing her to claim herself may give more back than the $500 credit you would receive. So, you will need to play around with the numbers to see which scenario gives the better refund.

[R-SchuleCPA]

There is no income limitations for college students to be claimed as a dependent, so if you meet the support test then your child should eligible. However,  if child has filed a tax return, then she should not have claimed herself as a dependent. If she did then it would prevent you from claiming her.