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If no one claimed me as a dependent, can I claim the first and second stimulus checks on line 30 of the 1040 for for 2020? I am a 20 year-old full-time student.

For the 2019 tax year, I attempted to file as independent, but somehow I was filed as dependent. I am planning to file as independent for the 2020 tax year and my parents have no intention of claiming me. Is it still possible to receive credit for both stimulus checks?
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2 Replies
DMarkM1
Employee Tax Expert

If no one claimed me as a dependent, can I claim the first and second stimulus checks on line 30 of the 1040 for for 2020? I am a 20 year-old full-time student.

Yes.  If no one can claim you as a dependent on their tax return then you should file a 2020 tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit.  The amount will be the total amount of rounds one and two minus any amounts that you received in any of those rounds. 

 

If you received zero payments, you will get the full amount of rounds one and two added to your tax return as a refundable credit.  It will show up on line 30 of your Form 1040.

 

Be sure when you are answering the "Personal Info" questions in TurboTax you indicate that you "Cannot be claimed by someone else".  

 

Here is a link with more information on the Recovery Rebate Credit.

 

 

 

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If no one claimed me as a dependent, can I claim the first and second stimulus checks on line 30 of the 1040 for for 2020? I am a 20 year-old full-time student.

You must understand, that if you meet the qualifications so that someone can claim you as a dependent, you must check the box that says “yes, I can be claimed as a dependent“ even if that person will not claim you. Checking that box will disqualify you from the stimulus credit, and failing to check that box—if someone can in fact claim you as a dependent—in order to get the credit, would constitute as tax fraud.  The second question “will that person claim you?“ Is only relevant to the American opportunity tax credit. It is the first question, can you be claimed, that controls the stimulus payment.

 

As a full-time student, you can be claimed as a dependent by your parents if you live with them more than half the year and if you don’t provide more than half your own financial support. If you are away at college, this is considered a temporary absence and you are deemed to have lived with your parents during that time.  To not live with your parents for tax purposes, you must have taken steps to have moved out permanently, and done it before June 30 so that you would have moved out for at least half the year.  The financial support question is somewhat complicated. You get credit for support that you provide your self, which includes earnings from a job or tuition loans that are in your name. Your parents get credit for providing you with the equivalent value of room and board for the home where you have space to live in, and they also get credit for any tuition, medical, entertainment, or other expenses they pay for you.  Scholarships don’t count as support that you provide yourself or support your parents provide you. If you did not provide more than half your overall support for the year, you probably can be claimed as a dependent by your parents.  

There are always exceptions, of course, and no one knows yet how aggressive the IRS will be at auditing suspicious claims for the rebate.  If audited, you would have to be able to prove that you did not qualify to be claimed as a dependent by anyone else.

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