Who claims you on their tax return

This page explains how the IRS decides whether a parent or someone else can claim you as a dependent while you are in college. Settle it with your family before anyone files, because the answer decides who claims the education credits and what you mark on your own return.

The tests for a qualifying child

A parent can usually claim a child who is under 19 at the end of the year, or under 24 and a full-time student during some part of five calendar months. You must also have lived with the parent for more than half the year, and time away at school generally counts as time at home. Older students and those living apart may still be claimed as a qualifying relative, which has its own income and support tests.

There is also a support test. You must not have paid for more than half of your own support, and scholarships you receive as a full-time student are left out of that count. Married students who file a joint return generally cannot be claimed.

What being claimed changes

When a parent claims you, the parent claims the education credits for your expenses, including expenses you paid yourself. You cannot claim either credit on your own return that year. You also cannot take the student loan interest deduction.

You may still need to file a return of your own. If your income passes the filing threshold, or you want back tax withheld from your pay, you file and mark the box saying someone can claim you as a dependent.

Settle these with your family

• Who will claim you this year
• Who paid tuition and other school costs
• Where you lived during the year
• How much of your own support you paid

Agreeing before anyone files

Talk with your parents or guardians before tax season about who will claim you, and compare notes on who paid what. If you file first and leave the dependent box unmarked, a parent's electronic return claiming you may be rejected. Fixing that usually takes an amended return and extra time.

When parents are divorced or separated, the parent you lived with for more of the year is generally the one entitled to claim you, though the other parent can claim you with a signed release. Tie-breaker rules apply when more than one person could claim the same child.

Tax dependency and the FAFSA

The FAFSA asks its own dependency questions, and the answer there can differ from the tax answer. A student a parent leaves off the tax return may still count as dependent for federal aid, and the reverse can also happen. Your school's financial aid office handles the FAFSA side, while the IRS rules govern the tax side.

An interactive assistant on the IRS website asks a series of questions and gives an answer on whether a person can be claimed. A VITA volunteer can go through the tests with you and your family.