I'm 20 and made under $3,800, but my mom claimed me on her taxes? I'm a full time student and don't live with my parents. Can I still file as a dependent and receive income tax?

If your mother provided more than half your upkeep (money for food, rent, tuition, clothes, etc), and your income is less than $3800 she can claim you as her dependent even though you don't live with her. And yes, you can still file a tax return - just be sure to indicate that you are claimed by someone else as a dependent.

It depends; your mom can claim you on her taxes as a qualifying relative UNLESS your gross income is $3,800 or more than $3,800 for 2012 ($3,900 or more for 2013).. However, as long as you are under age 24 and a full-time student for at least five months out of the year, then regardless of your gross income amount she can claim if you did not provide more than half of your own support during the year, 2012.

Then UNLESS you provided more than half of your own support during the year, 2012, she can claim you as temporary absence, such as that due to edu,is ignored; However, in general , you, as a qualifying child, need to have the same residence for more than half of the year. If not, she can still claim you as long as your gross income is less than $3,800 ( and she provides more than 50% of your total support during the year) as a qualifying relative; but as a son, as a qualifying relative, you do not need to live with her for more than half of the year

Sorry I forgot this part:


You, as her dependent, need to file your return as long as your unearned income ,i.e, interest CG, or div income or etc was over $950 or your earned income ,i.e. salary commission or etc was over $5,950 fro 2012(this is your earned income plus $300(mandatory amount)) or Your gross income was MORE than the larger of $959 or earned income (up to $5,650)+$300.

BOTTOM LINE: You are in college, so your mother CAN and probably SHOULD claim you on her return.

YOU can file a return and still get a full refund even without claiming your own personal exemption.

Yes, and to clarify - not ony should you file an income tax return but you are required by law to do so because you made over $950. What you cannot and should not do is claim an exemption for yourself because your mother claimed you as a dependent. It makes more sense for her to claim you because there is a greater financial benefit to her claiming you than you claiming yourself, presuming she made a full time income. It can also be to your benefit if you are a student and your FAFSA is being filed with your mother's income information.

You may still qualify for a refund. Your dependency is only one type of deduction and you may still have overpaid even if you don't have a deduction. The income tax taken from our checks is always an estimate. You may possibly have to pay more but if so, you didn't earn that much and it won't be a crazy amount in any event.

But whether to file or not is not an option - you earned above the minimum so must complete and submit a tax return. You can do a 1040EZ which is very easy to do yourself.