Can my parents still claim me as a dependent if I dropped out of college halfway throughout the year?

[azh226]

I am a single, 19 year old who currently attends college. I lived on campus for 9 out of the 12 months from January 2017 to December 2017. My parents pay for more than half of my living expenses, and I only lived with them for about 3 months out of the year. During 2017, I will make less than $4,000. I have never filed a tax return before, and taxes are taken out of my paycheck before I receive them.

I am confused because I am not sure if the tax season goes from January 2017 to January 2018 or from April 2017 - April 2018. From April 2017 to April 2018, I will make more than $7,000 and will definitely have to file. However, from January 2018 - April 2018, I will not be attending college and will live on my own and work full time.

[TaxGuyBill]

Yes, they can claim you as a dependent.

In 2017 you will make less than $4000 and you parents provided over half of your support.  Because of that, going to college or not, and where you live do not matter.

[re2boys]

And just because taxes were taken out of your paycheck doesn't mean that the correct amount was paid to the US government.  As a student, you may very well have been due a refund of taxes paid during a summer job or part time work as my college age son's have received refunds of taxes withheld in past years.  You should go back and check if a refund was due in past years.

[Critter]

Taxes are done on a calendar year basis 1/1 to 12/31  and if you were a student for some part of 5 months then you are still a dependent of your parents.  

There are two types of dependents--qualifying child and qualifying relative. There is no specific income limit for a qualifying child dependent for you to claim them. Here are the requirements:

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student, or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.

6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.

7. The child must be younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) unless disabled.

If the person doesn't meet the qualifying child requirements, then there is an income limit to be claimed as a qualifying relative:

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer if the child's parent (or any other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return or files an income tax return only to get a refund on income tax withheld.

2. The person either (a) must be related to you or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household. (and must not be in violation of local law)

3. The person's gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 in 2016.

4. You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

5. The person must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

If a person meets the requirement to be claimed as a dependent by someone else, they must indicate that on their tax return if they are required to file one.