I like being a dependent. Why?
1. My dad gets a deduction when he does his taxes.
2. I get a fat return at tax time because I get all the money that was withheld from my paycheck back.
Now, that I have a degree and am working full-time and taking classes part-time, I was wondering what my tax status was.
After some research, I learned that in order to be a dependent, I had to fulfill the following requirements:
1. I had to be under the age of 18 OR under the age of 24 if I’ve been a full-time student for more than 5 months of the year.
2. The person claiming me as a dependent must have paid for more than 50% of my living expenses.
3. I must have lived with the person claiming as a dependent for more than 50% of the time.
**note: only one person at a time can claim you as a dependent or the IRS will get pissed at you.
Considering that I’m still livng at home and (yes, I admit it) pretty much mooching off my parents in terms of rent and food, all I have to do is be a full-time student for more than 5 months of the year.
Considering that I graduated in the middle of June, that pretty much counts for my 5 months right there. I’m also going to take more classes each semester in order to attain full-time status as a student at least until I’m 24.
This means that I get a fat return at the end of the year but a LOT less sleep since that’ll push me into being a full-time student as well as working full-time. But, it’s worth it for the few years before I turn 24. Besides, I’m young so I should be able to work through it for a few years before tapering off as I get older.
