College student- file taxes independently or must be a dependent?

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Kennedy
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College student- file taxes independently or must be a dependent?

Post by Kennedy »

If a full-time, unmarried college student age 19-23 did not provide for more than half of their support and lived at home > half a year, can they still file taxes on their own independently or must they be a dependent on their parents' tax filing?

In other words, if the parents are able to claim this adult child as a dependent, but choose not to, does this child have the option to claim on their own?
fabdog
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Re: College student- file taxes independently or must be a dependent?

Post by fabdog »

For dependent, the test is whether they are or not

It is not dependent on whether you choose to claim them.

So to your specific question, if the child could be claimed as a dependent by the parents, then if they file their own return they must indicate that they could be claimed as a dependent, even if you choose not to claim them

They may still need to file their own return (or you can include their income on your tax return) depending on how much income they had during the year

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Re: College student- file taxes independently or must be a dependent?

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Finance (Not Investing) forum (taxes).
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Nate79
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Re: College student- file taxes independently or must be a dependent?

Post by Nate79 »

Kennedy wrote: Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:36 pm If a full-time, unmarried college student age 19-23 did not provide for more than half of their support and lived at home > half a year, can they still file taxes on their own independently or must they be a dependent on their parents' tax filing?

In other words, if the parents are able to claim this adult child as a dependent, but choose not to, does this child have the option to claim on their own?
On the front of the 1040 the student will be asked this question: Someone CAN claim you as a dependent - check the box. Pretty self explanatory sentence I think.
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