Will it affect the amount of my daughters return if I claim her as a dependent on my taxes ?

[kristentaylor201]

Will y daughters tax refund amount be affected because I am claiming her on my return? 

[kristentaylor201]

She graduated from college in May. Started teaching in August and made 11,000. She still lives at home and she received pell grants based on my income while attending college. If I claim her will it affect her refund amount?

[DanielV01]

Truly the question depends on whether you can claim your daughter.  If she was under 24 on December 31, 2017, continued living with you at least 2 more months after finishing school, and did not provide half of her own support throughout the year, then she still is your dependent.  If that's the case, you should claim her because she would not be allowed to claim herself for any benefits even if you decide not to.  As far as the numbers are concerned, she will be entitled to a 6,300 standard deduction, but not her 4050 personal exemption.  Also, she will not claim Educational Credits, you will.  Her refund will be approximately $405 less than what she would have been able to claim on her own return, and minus the Educational Credit.  However, you should be getting the benefits of both of those amounts on your tax return, (and possibly more) so you could certainly make an arrangement to allow her to have these portions of funds.

However, if she turned 24 before December 31, she is no longer your dependent.  Also, if she was under 24 but provided more than half of her own support, she is not your dependent either.  Nevertheless, in this case you can input all of her information into TurboTax because if she lived with you for more than 6 months, she can still be used for EIC if you qualify even though she isn't your dependent.  Hope this helps.

[kristentaylor201]

Thank you so much. I have searched for this answer and had no luck. You explained very well.

[DanielV01]

You're welcome.  That's why we're here.

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

It depends.  First, you need to make sure she qualifies as your dependent.  Here is an excellent FAQ that helps to make this determination:  https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5187060

If you can claim her on your taxes, she must file a dependent return, even if you choose not to.  Whether or not this affects her result, however, depends on whether or not she had $6300 of earned income or whether she was hoping to claim a dependent of her own (someone who is a dependent may not claim a dependent).  And this is her status regardless of whether you actually decide to claim her.

However, if she had less than $6300 and has no children of her own, she won't see any difference on her return.  She will get back the taxes she paid in on her Federal (and probably her state) returns.