Is it better to be claimed as a dependent or an independent on my taxes?

Question

... I am trying to decide whether I should be claimed as a dependent on my parents' taxes... i live with them, im 21 yrs old and I work... im also a student.... if there is any other info that might be important to know, let me kno :) thanx...

Answer 1

You don't get to just "decide" - either your parents are eligible to claim you or they aren't, based on the tax law. If they are eligible but don't claim you, you still are not allowed to claim an exemption for yourself and are required to check the box on your return saying that you CAN be claimed by someone else.

If you provided over half of your own support for the year, they can't claim you - otherwise they can. Tuition and other school expenses, as well as regular living expenses, are all part of support. There's a worksheet on page 32 of IRS Publication 17 to calculate support and who paid how much of it - you can download the publication at irs.gov

So basically if your earnings are just spending money, or are going into savings and not being spent on your support, your parents can probably claim you, but if you're making a bundle of money, paying your own tuition and school expenses and maybe paying them rent, they probably can't. If you're in doubt, use the worksheet to check out the numbers. And talk to your parents about this before you file your return. If you claim an exemption for yourself and they do also, you'll all be dealing with additional paperwork from the IRS, and you probably don't want to do that.

Answer 2

Unless you provided more than half your own support, they are the only ones who may claim you, you cannot claim yourself. If you made less than $5,150, it won't make any difference to you anyway, you will get a full refund of tax withheld.