The address on your W-2, or any other records
at your job, is not relevant for whether you can be claimed as a dependent, by
someone else. You either meet the dependent rules or you don’t.
If someone else claimed your exemption
inappropriately, and if they file first, your return will be rejected if
e-filed. You would then need to file a return on paper, claiming the exemption
if appropriate. The IRS will process your return and send you your refund, in
the normal time. Shortly (up to a year) thereafter, you’ll receive a letter
from the IRS, stating that your exemption was claimed on another return. It
will tell you that if you made a mistake to file an amended return and if you
didn't make a mistake to do nothing. The other party will get the same letter
you did. If one of you doesn't file an amended return, unclaiming the exemption,
the next letter, from the IRS, will require you to provide proof. Be sure to
reply in a timely manner.
Winner gets the tax benefits; loser gets to pay the IRS back with penalties
and interest.
DEPENDENT RULES
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 residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the
Earned Income 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
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)
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
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...
