Stimulus Recovery for College Student - Difference between CAN be a dependent and claimed as a dependent

[BillyTheDutch]

Can an 18-year old college student receive the stimulus recovery credit if they file as a non-dependent even if they could be claimed as a dependent by his/her parents.  In this case, assume the student is full-time and does not play more than half their support.   If the parents' income exceeds the cutoff for receiving stimulus checks it would be beneficial for the student (who makes less than the $72k single filer) to file as a non-dependent and, thus, receive the stimulus recovery credit.  Is this allowed it the student could be claimed as a dependent? 

[ColeenD3 · Accepted solution]

No. Being a dependent or not is not the choice of the taxpayer. If he qualifies as a dependent, then he is a dependent, even if the parents fail to claim him.