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The governments care not "claimed as a dependent". The governments always count a family as a whole.
So a rich dad/mom who do not pay your tuition, you are on your own.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan
Being claimed as a dependent can affect your eligibility for financial aid. Pell grants are a gift from the government of up to $5645 a year. If you have parents who make $50,000 a piece and are claiming you as a dependent, you are ineligible for a Pell grant. The governments rationale being you would get money as an "expected family contribution".
If your parents are claiming you as a dependent but aren't paying for any of your college, it would "cost" the student a few thousand bucks a year that they would otherwise be entitled to.
I'm not sure if this is the appropriate forum to pose the question, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Throughout university, my dad claimed me as a dependent on his tax return despite that I largely paid my own way. He kept me on even when I moved back in and was working two jobs and supporting myself, though still living at home. I didn't know any better at the time, but I do now.
My question is, was it legal for him to do this? Should I seek restitution in some way? How much did he make off of me in total? Is it common for parents to do this? My wife mentioned this is entirely inappropriate and probably illegal, so I thought I should ask.
I was living in the US at the time, by the way.
Thanks!
Yes its legal for parent to claim deduction on child that is in school. IRS would only have acted if both claimed. Support doesn't mean he has to pay for your college cost by the way. Actually to be fair if he allowed to claim then you owed rent; food cost laundry and part of utilities etc in reality once you became a adult living at home. If you didn't pay part of the household expenses; but only your personal expenses then move on with your life.
My kids and I coordinated when we were going to stop claiming them...
Me too. We did whatever would minimize our combined tax bill. On occasion this forced one of my kids to get a smaller tax refund than he otherwise would have, so I gave him the money. It's nice to be on relatively good terms with your kids.
The governments care not "claimed as a dependent". The governments always count a family as a whole.
So a rich dad/mom who do not pay your tuition, you are on your own.
That is two separate issues, though. You can be an independent student and still be claimed as a dependent on your parents' income tax, and vice versa. The independent student status has nothing to do with income tax. It has to do with your status for financial aid only and is a completely different deal that dependency for purposes of income tax.
As I wrote, I wasn't aware at the time of the implications of filing as a dependent. Additionally, this was just a few years ago, not decades ago. Finally, as I already made clear, this is about making a case to him whereby I can point out that he benefited financially from keeping me as a dependent five years post-high school, despite largely supporting myself.
When you are at college you can still be claimed as a dependent. You were also living in his home after college so you can be claimed as a dependent. If you had done your own taxes you would have had to state if anyone else was claiming you. If you did not do that and the IRS noticed your father claimed you as well they would red flag the second return that came in, send you a letter telling you that someone else is claiming you on their taxes.
Yeah, I dont get why you want to come after your dad now....
I got to claim myself on taxes at age 18. My parents did not pay for college. They did not give me $150/mo. They did not pay for ANYTHING. I did not live at home AT all (during school holidays, etc...) I worked, rented a room, paid my own bills, with no financial help from parents.
I have a feeling my standard of living was quite different as a 20 year old than your standard of living. My parents home was not my permanent address. I may have been at "traditional college age" but I did not live the life of a traditional college student. Your life sounds like that of a typical college student. Sorry, not all are given a full ride in tuition from Mom & Dad. Most college kids do contribute in tuition/living expenses.
I paid for my own life, 100%. Your parents subsidized your life.
If you were living at home over the summer and after college and getting $150/mo, you were not supporting yourself, Sorry, Charlie. Your dad paid much more "in" than he got "out" from claiming you. And you netted more money from his support those 5 years than you would have ever gotten in a tax refund.
You have every right to claim yourself as a deduction, once you are fully supporting yourself.
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