Can my parents claim me as a dependent if I am married? How can I make sure they will be able to?

[shelovespiano]

My husband and I are in college and got legally married in December of last year. Our parents do not know that we are legally married until our wedding ceremony. Neither of us make a substantial income, and from what I understand, our parents would still be able to claim us as dependents if we file as married filing separately. Is that correct? What is the limit on our personal income where our parents can still claim us as dependents? What do we need to be careful about to both maximize our returns and file legally without interfering with our parents' taxes?

[MinhT]

Your respective parents can claim you as dependents if they provide more than half of your support and if you are under 24 and full time students as of the end of 2016.

If you are 24 or over, the additional condition is that you have income of less than $4,050 in 2016.

If you have income, each of you have to file a tax return as Married filing Separately and indicate in your returns that Someone else is claiming you as a dependent.

[Bsch4477]

One correction:  They can claim you as a dependent If you are full time student and under age 24 and you did not provide more than half of YOUR income and lived with your parents half the year.  Absence at school does not count as not living at home.

[fanfare]

See IRS Pub 501 for who can be a dependent on your parent's tax return. There's nothing you can do to change the rules.