Technically, you never claim yourself as a dependent. Your real question may be: do you claim your own exemption. That is, do you claim yourself.
Probably not. There is a rule that says IF somebody else
CAN claim you as a dependent, you are not allowed to claim your own exemption.
If you have sufficient income (usually more than $6350), you can & should
still file taxes; you just doesn’t get your own $4050 exemption (deduction). In
TurboTax, you indicate that somebody else can claim you as a dependent, at the
personal information section.
Even if you had less, you are allowed to
file if you need to get back income tax withholding. You cannot get back social
security or Medicare tax withholding.
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and
standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they
don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there
is an age limit, a relationship test and a residence
test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned
Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:
1. He is under age 19, or under 24
if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally &
permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are
considered third party support and not as support provided by the student.
3. He lived with the parent
(including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half
the year
So, it doesn't matter how much he earned. What matters is how much he
spent on support.
A person can still be a Qualifying
relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for
claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live
with the taxpayer ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4,050 (2016-17)
3. The taxpayer must have
provided more than 1/2 his support
In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada
or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint
return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the
qualifying child of another taxpayer
