Okay, so my parents decided to move my sister and I out of the house. In doing this, they said they would pay for our apartment for ONE year. They said, "Since we're paying for that, we'll be claiming you on our taxes for this past year".
Um...can they do that? If I dispute it and say, "I have a different address and I'm over the age of 18" can they still claim me? I want to claim myself (or rather, keep myself as an exemption), but they're going to try to claim me too! How do I keep this from happening?
2007-10-12 11:39:07 · 6 answers · asked by Ariel Q 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
More details...
I no longer live at the apartment. I now have a new place of residence. Also, this happened in May of 2007, so I lived with them for less than half of the year. I am also 19 years of age.
I will re-read everyone's responses to see if this changes anything, but I will still ask...does any of that make a difference?
2007-10-12 12:07:03 · update #1
Your parents can claim you in one of two different ways:
As a qualifying child if all of these are true
--you are related to them
--you live with them for more than 6 months
--you are 18 or younger on Dec 31
--you don't file a joint return with your husband or wife
--you are a US citizen
--they provide more than half of your support
Or as a qualifying relative if all of these are true:
--they provide more than half of your support
--your income is less than $3300 for the year
--you are either related or live with them the entire year
--you don't file a joint return with your husband or wife
--you are a US citizen
It sounds to me like they fail on both of these. The first set of rules they fail because you didn't live with them for six months. The second set of rules they fail if you have income greater than $3300 for the year.
I usually tell kids to negotiate with the parents. There's a way for both of you to claim your exemption and get a better total return, but in this case, they can't claim you at all.
(I see that other people are placing the income threshold at $3400, not $3300. I'm using 2006 information, they're likely using 2007 information. Looks like I have to update myself.)
2007-10-12 21:42:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When did you move out? If you still lived with them for over half of the calendar year, then yes they can. If you lived with them for less than half the year, but your gross income for the year was under $3300 then they probably can. If you didn't live with them for at least half of the year, and you had income over $3300 for 2006, then no they were not allowed to claim you in April 2007 for 2006.
Looking at your additional info, it looks like you are asking about the 2007 taxes, to be filed in April 2008. If you moved out in May and you made over $3400 total income in 2007, then no they can't claim you, no matter how much of your support they provided. Since you are 19, if you weren't a fulltime student for some part of at least 5 months of 2007, then if you made over $3400 they can't claim you.
You keep this from happening by claiming yourself on your return. Let them know you are doing this - if they also claim you, then the IRS will get involved in settling it and it will cause a lot of paperwork for both you and your parents. Tell them to verify the rules for claiming dependents.
2007-10-12 15:42:43 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My tax person says if you are over 18, not full time college living in their home, they can not claim you on their taxes in the manner that prevents you from filing your own taxes, as if you were still there. There may be a way they can claim taxes for the cost of the apts however you should still file your own taxes. Any problems will be on them not you.
2007-10-12 11:49:15 · answer #3 · answered by puchtakathleen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ETA: IF you are 19, and NOT a college student, they cannot claim you. Just to be on the safe side, file your taxes on January 1st (you can send in an estimated return by using the numbers off your final paycheck of the year), and let the Feds sort it out for you.
2007-10-12 11:48:05 · answer #4 · answered by frissy 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Your parents can not claim you because you must reside in the same residence with them for more than half the year. If your parents follow through with their plans then they have file a "fraudulent return".
2007-10-12 13:03:46 · answer #5 · answered by Gary 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If you income is over the exemption amount they can't claim you.
2007-10-12 11:43:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋