Should I claim myself? (taxes)

[Eventide]

Right now, I am a first year in college. I am paying for school myself. However, when it comes to taxes, my parents still claim me.

My question: Would I get more financial aid for school if I claimed myself, and, overall, would claiming myself be a wise thing to do?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

If you live with your parents for more than 6 months of the year and/or they pay the majority of your expenses, they should claim you. Otherwise you will need to file as an independent and if you do, be sure to fill out the long form and itemize, the short form will screw you every time.

That's just a suggestion, I'm not a professional financial/tax planner. It is always best to seek professional guidance on these topics (maybe I should have given the disclaimer first ).

 

[diablo]

I believe that with financial aid, you have to prove that you're not still listed as a dependent (by bringing in your parents last filing, or some other method) - which you can't do since you still are one. As for claiming yourself on general tax forms, I'd imagine (but have no way of saying with any certainty) that the IRS must use some sort of a computer system to keep track of all of the taxes sent in. I'd be very surprised if they didn't have even a rudimentary system that would send up a flag if someone who was listed as a dependent on a father or mother's tax forms filed as an independent. In fact, considering how easily that computer program could be made, I'd be shocked if it wasn't already in place. So, feel free to do it - but do so at your own risk... since I doubt you're making much money, the risks involved on cheating your taxes aren't really worth the benefits you'd get by doing so...

 

[Giovanni Casanova]

Claiming yourself will not help you. You will still be considered under your parents even if you claim yourself this year, unless you're over a certain age (23? I think).

They still figure your parents will contribute to you even if you are out on your own on all the financial aid paperwork. I learned that the hard way because my parents couldn't contribute anything to me but they made too much money according to their taxes for me to get much financial aid.