tax help for 21yr old?

Question

im 21 yrs old, i live alone, work part time and will be going to school full time in the spring... can i file independently of my mother?

i was under the impression that i had to be 24... is there anything i should be doing since i didnt start filing right after i turned 18???

i lived in a dorm until may then i moved into my current apt in sept so i guess i lived about five months with my mother... but she does pay for my school

Answer 1

If you had enough income to be required to file, then you MUST file whether your mother claims you or not. And if you aren't required to file but had money deducted for federal income tax, then you should file to get your money refunded to you.

If you lived with your mother for more than half of 2006, you were a full-time student for at least five months of the year, and you didn't provide more than half of your own total support for the year, then she probably can claim you. If you didn't live with her at least half of 2006, then she can't claim you. Termporary absences from home, such as living in a dorm at school if her address was still your permanent address, don't count as not living with her. Also, if you were not a full-time student for some part of at least five months of 2006, she can't claim you even if you lived with her and she supported you.

The age limit of 24 is the age at which your mom would not be able to claim you even if you are a full-time student.

If you can be claimed as a dependent, then you must file your return if your income for the year was over $5150 if all your income was from you job - if you had unearned income, income not from a job, the limit may be much lower. If you can't be claimed as a dependent, then you must file if your total income is over $8450.

Answer 2

For 2006, my gut reaction is that you are still her dependent, but I have made some assumptions:
1, I assume you were full-time at college. So the income exclusion does not apply in your case.
2. Following on from the above, the period of time spent in the dorm counts as time living with your mother. That gives her more than six months with you as part of her household.
3. Obviously you meet the age test if (and only if) you were a full-time student for any part of five calendar months during the year.
4. Did you provide more than half your own support? This is a fiddly thing to describe, so look at the link below and review the section on dependents.

Any wrong assumptions on my part will break my carefully constructed chain. However, if it adequately describes your circumstances, your mother is entitled to claim you as a dependent and, because of that, you may not, under any circumstances, take the Personal Exemption. You may, however, take the standard deduction of $5,150 subject to the restriction for dependents. The standard deduction for dependents is capped at earned income plus $850. What this means in practice is if you have unearned income (including capital gains) of less than $850, you can claim the $5,150 standard deduction.

Answer 3

How many months out of the last year did you live with her? Is she paying for school? If you answer under 6 and no to these 2 questions respectively then yes you can file independently! BLessings

Answer 4

yes, when you turned 18 you could have filed alone. Your mom has been claiming you so she could get extra money.

Answer 5

Yes, in fact you have to.
She can't legally claim you as a dependent anymore.

Answer 6

Either way will work. See this page from the IRS - http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e3591

Answer 7

yes absolutely you can but make sure she is not filing you as a dependent too, that would be fraud.