I am 20 years old and attend community college part time. I attended 3 out of 4 college quarters, taking 10credits per quarter. Full time at this college is usually 12-20 credits. I made over $18,000 last year and paid for all of my college expenses myself. However I lived at my parents house without paying rent. Can my parents claim me?
Not if your credit hours were always below full-time status at your school. Your parents would be able to claim you while your are a college student if the following applies:
You are between the ages of 19 and 24,
You are a full time student for 2016
To be a student, they must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:
A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school, or
A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local government agency.
The 5 calendar months don't have to be consecutive.
You did not provide more than half of her own support.
This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. However, to see what is or isn't support, see Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative) , later. If you aren't sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find Worksheet 2 helpful.
You did not file a joint tax return.
An exception to the joint return test applies if your child and his or her spouse file a joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Since (it seems that) you were not a full time student, your parents would only be able to claim you as a dependent under the qualifying relative dependent rules. Your income (dependent’s income is limited to 4,050 dollars) is too high for you to qualify as anyone’s dependent under these rules.
Not if your credit hours were always below full-time status at your school. Your parents would be able to claim you while your are a college student if the following applies:
You are between the ages of 19 and 24,
You are a full time student for 2016
To be a student, they must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:
A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school, or
A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local government agency.
The 5 calendar months don't have to be consecutive.
You did not provide more than half of her own support.
This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. However, to see what is or isn't support, see Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative) , later. If you aren't sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find Worksheet 2 helpful.
You did not file a joint tax return.
An exception to the joint return test applies if your child and his or her spouse file a joint return only to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.
Since (it seems that) you were not a full time student, your parents would only be able to claim you as a dependent under the qualifying relative dependent rules. Your income (dependent’s income is limited to 4,050 dollars) is too high for you to qualify as anyone’s dependent under these rules.