My daughter is 19 and a full time college student living away from home.

Do we claim her on our taxes this year?

As for the college issue, if we do not claim her on our taxes, would she be considered independent when it comes to filing her FAFSA?

Asking a tax center would be the best thing to do.

My mother claimed me as a dependent when I was in college. I believe you can claim a college student as a dependent up to 23 years of age (or different depending on your home state) and who does not make more than a certain amount for that particular tax year.

You can claim her (under age 24 and full time student) unless she paid more than half of her support for the year. And yes, she would be independent if you don't.

Joypulv,

Your tax advice is correct.

The independent part, possibly NOT.

It depends on the state. My daughter has a job as a nanny and filed her own tax return, but the Georgia college system does NOT consider her to be independent due to her income level. They reason that no one can live and attend college on $400 per month (even though she gets room and board), and thus have dictated that she still is dependent on me until she reaches the age of 25.