<p>These are probably basic tax questions, which is why I am coming here rather than asking a professional, but this is the first time I’ve done my taxes by myself so I don’t really understand what’s happening here.</p>
<p>I was in school and completely self-supporting, albeit with student loans, until April 2011. My parents claimed me as a dependent during this time-- since my only income was from my loans anyway. My parents gave me very, very small sums of money sporadically but I was paying all of my tuition, room, board, groceries, clothing, routine medical bills, etc completely independently. They paid for one medical procedure I had but that was it. After that point (end of April), I moved in with my parents. Their mortgage is paid off and they didn’t charge me rent, but I did not contribute to the household utilities. I did pay much of my own food, and all of my clothes, car related expenses, medical bills, etc, with money I had in savings until I started my full-time job in August. When I started my job, my parents told me to claim myself on my W4 now that I was working full time and paying my own expenses… I guess they didn’t consider the utilities part of my expenses. So I did, and I filed my taxes months ago, and I already got my return. I moved out in January and now my parents don’t pay anything. </p>
<p>Now my dad is upset and says that I need to send him a copy of my return so that his accountant can submit an amendment to the IRS so he can claim me. I imagine this means I am going to owe the IRS money since I already got my return. Are there other repercussions to this? Will I end up owing money next year too since my W4 on file still claims my exemption? Is what my dad asking fair? If I can just give him the return, pay back the IRS, leave my W4 the way that it is for next year (since I don’t even live with my parents anymore as of January), and then things will be normal when I file independently next year then I guess I don’t care about just giving him the return. I just don’t understand what will happen if I let him claim me when I’ve been claiming myself all this time. I don’t want my deductions from my paychecks to get messed up.</p>
<p>I am not assuming I am entitled to the exemption, I know my parents were very generous when I lived with them over the summer, but I don’t want to mess up all my tax stuff if what my dad is asking isn’t warranted. I am very confused as to how this works and I desperately needed that return money. My father filled out my stupid W4 himself and said I needed to claim myself in the first place.</p>
<p>This ‘claiming’ really only counts when the tax return is done. The W4 ‘claiming’ is just for the withholding based on the anticipation that you’ll claim yourself when taxes are filed and so the tax withheld will be close to the tax owed based on that.</p>
<p>If you claimed yourself for withholding but end up not claiming yourself when filing taxes you’ll likely owe more money unless you earned under an amount where you pay any taxes at all or at least any significant taxes.</p>
<p>Off the top I’d say you should file with yourself claimed and your parents should allow that and not take you as a deduction regardless of the little costs that you paid and they paid. It’s time for them to let you be independent and gain whatever benefit in this area you can even though it’ll cost them some higher taxes because of not taking you as a deduction. That’s what I did for my kids. They need the extra money more than I do.</p>
<p>Or you could take a more practical approach and see what the difference is in taxes if you claim the deduction versus him taking the deduction. It’ll most likely make a bigger difference for him but IMO that’s not reason enough to cut you out. If you do the calculations and find that taking the deduction saves you (totally making these numbers up) for example, $500 but saves him $1500 then maybe he can take it and then write you a check for $500 and you can all be happy.</p>
<p>I think you’re raising a very good question and point here and one that many/most families face. This is also an area that can cause some animosity within families - especially when parents want to claim the kid even when they didn’t support them extensively in that year.</p>
<p>As your dad has an accountant, this should be discussed with him. But, so you understand the rules, to be a qualifying child to be a dependent for tax purposes, you have to meet all four of the following tests:</p>
<p>
</code></pre>
<p>You meet the first 3 tests by the sound of it, but you may or may not meet the the 4th. You need to figure out how much your expenses for the year were and if you provided more than half your own support. (Your loans used for school do count toward providing your own support). It may be a bit borderline once you factor in what you would have paid in rent if you had lived independently. But if you provided more than half your own support, your Dad can not legitimately claim you.</p>
<p>If you did file an amendment and already have your refund, you would of course have to repay that (and there may be interest and penalties if it all happens after April 17th). If it is borderline as far as whether you paid half your own expenses, and your dad would benefit more than you as far as refund size, you could perhaps tell him you can not afford to repay your refund but that if he wants to (and can legitimately) claim you, he can repay your refund. That way you both benefit.</p>
<p>Either way, it should have no effect on your claiming yourself for this year and will not affect your W4.</p>
<p>The only time my parents paid anything was over the summer, I paid for everything else myself either with loans or with my income. I guess they saved me money in rent and utilities by not charging me for the summer months, but I paid my own room and board the rest of the year living in the dorms. I am not sure how that comes out mathematically in the end… math is not my strong suit. I am sure my dad is painting a somewhat unrealistic picture for the accountant of how much financial support he provided, so that is muddying the waters for me-- I don’t get to talk to the accountant myself and I don’t know what my dad told him. My parents go on quite frequently about what a bother it was to support me through school and what good people they are for doing it, when they’ve never even seen a bill from my school…</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that as long as there are no repercussions besides having to pay back the money I got from my return, I don’t really have a choice but to give my dad the paperwork, and I’ll do it. If there are repercussions I will try to convince him not to make me do it, but will have to if he doesn’t back down. I don’t want to end up estranged. But I got like a $1200 return and need to purchase a new (used) car in the very near future and needed that money to do it. My car is on its last leg.</p>
<p>A couple follow up questions…</p>
<p>Would there be a penalty/interest if my dad has an extension? He told me his accountant filed for an extension anyway, presumably because my dad waited until the last minute to file anyway and then the accountant told him he was making a mistake. If there are penalties, my dad might not want to do this anyway. He sounds like he thinks he’s not trying to screw me. I got my return months ago, though, so I don’t know if I’ll be in trouble for having the money as long as I’ve had it.</p>
<p>This was also the first year I used the 1098 for tuition payments, my parents used it in previous years and told me to do it this year. Will changing my dependent status mess with that?</p>
<p>There is no penalty for filing an extension. But the taxes still have to be paid by the deadline. If the taxes are underpaid once the tax return is finalized, then there would be interest and possibly penalties on the underpayment.</p>
<p>If the accountant is going to file an amended return for you, then you are entitled to, and should, speak to him. The accountant may be unaware that you paid for your school and expenses with loans. To me, it sounds likely you provided more than half your own support. But you would really need to crank the numbers. ANd make sure the accountant knows the details.</p>
<p>As mentioned in prior posts, if it is borderline then tell your Dad you can’t afford to repay your refund and any additional taxes, interest, and penalty you may owe because of amending your return. Try and come to some sort of agreement so that you both benefit. (we still claim my daughter as she is still in college. She has taxable scholarships and grants so always has a tax bill. Claiming her reduces our tax bill but increases hers, so we pay her taxes for her).</p>
<p>As far as the 1098. Did you claim one of the education tax credits? If so, then yes changing your dependent status would mess with that. Only the person claiming the exemption is eligible for the education credit.</p>
<p>I think your dad is being very unreasonable to just expect you to have your return amended without any discussion about the repercussions to you. You really need to find out and discuss the possible impact on you. (you will definitely owe money - how much depends on your individual situation.) </p>
<p>My suggestion would be that you tell dad you are very worried about the financial impact on you, but you are willing to have the accountant look at the situation and run the numbers. But, you do not want to give the accountant permission to file an amendment until you see the impact. Once you see the numbers, if it turns out that dad can legitimately claim you and it it beneficial to do so, then you will agree if he pays the extra taxes you will incur because of it. As a parent, I would think this was a pretty reasonable approach, one in which you both benefit.</p>
<p>I think I claimed an education tax credit… I answered yes to the question about paying educational expenses when H&R block asked me if I’d paid them, and I had a tuition statement and statements from my loans. I’m not really sure what I did, I just followed the prompts on the website… That, and I did exactly what my dad told me to do, which figures. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll have to ask my dad to have the accountant call me. I’m walking a fine line here because if what I say about how much support has been provided doesn’t jive with what my parents said, they’ll be embarrassed and angry with me. This is just not pretty, I wish my parents had let sleeping dogs lie. I filed my taxes precisely how they instructed me to and now they are coming after me after I’ve already filed because they want to get more money, when it is ambiguous at best whether or not they’re even entitled to this money. It does not make me feel good. </p>
<p>It also sounds like an extension was filed for my DAD’s taxes, but nothing for mine, and I doubt this will be settled on time. So I am guessing that means my return will be late, unless they could have filed for an extension without me. I purposefully did my taxes in like February so I wouldn’t have to worry about this.</p>
<p>Emaheevul - First of all, take a few deep breaths. There is no “big problem” here. Your W-4 is fine. Moreover, your Dad (and his Accountant) are being very reasonable.</p>
<p>Don’t over-think this. The IRS doesn’t care whether you or your Dad “claimed” you last year … so long as both returns didn’t. I’m not going to pick at who provided half your support last year … and I suggest you don’t obsess about it either. It’s in the past, and it’s not like the family is losing money … either you have a lower tax bill, or your Dad does. Families handle these things differently. Some will say to the new graduate "You’re a working adult now. Take the exemption (even if it would be financially advantageous for the parents to take it and reimburse the difference to the new grad). Some parents go with “We got you to this point. The least you can do is let us have the exemption this one last year.” In my family we sit together and figure who should take the exemption. Different strokes, as the saying goes. Your Dad may seem a little grumpy at the moment. Rest assured, he’s proud of you.</p>
<p>An extension would not be filed for you because you have already filed your taxes. So you are looking at filing an amended return. </p>
<p>If you claimed the AOC, then you are probably looking at a big hit on taxes if you file an amended return. Also, my understanding is that amended returns are more likely to be audited, so if you did provide more than half your own support and you are audited, then that is not a good thing for you or your dad.</p>
<p>Tell your dad your concerns. Tell him you think you filed correctly according to IRS rules but are willing to go with him to see the accountant. You kind of need to be an adult and stand up for yourself here. It sounds like he has not even though about how this may affect you. I understand you don’t want to be estranged from him, but if you just cave in when you think you are in the right, you will really resent it and it will cause problems with your relationship.</p>
<p>We always tried to figure out the best overall scenario for the total family when it came to taxes (as there were a couple of years it was borderline). Whatever choice we made, it was always a win win situation. But we always ensured the kids did not incur any more taxes however we did it (by paying them the difference).</p>
<p>Perhaps just ask your Dad how he plans to handle the increase in taxes. Explain that you filed with assistance (H&R Block) and they show you as independent. If your Dad has your taxes amended, is he planning to pay your new tax liability? Perhaps there is some benefit to him that is still better then the amount of tax you owe.</p>
<p>I do all the family tax returns and we claim DS’s exemption because he doesn’t earn enough to take full advantage of it plus we need the exemption to claim his medical and tuition credit. Your dad’s accountant is probably looking at which return gets the greater benefit from claiming the exemption and making a purely financial calculation including medical expenses which I assume are of no benefit to you. </p>
<p>The IRS won’t care unless the exemption turns up on both returns and then it’s likely you and dad will both be audited. I doubt the amended return will increase your changes of being audited but you will need to repay the education credit possibly with a minor interest charge. </p>
<p>Everyone is a little sore at tax time so don’t make it worse. Sit down and discuss this as adults and take the path which minimizes total tax payments.</p>
<p>OP (and others) - just FYI:
The money you get back from the IRS if you had too much withheld from your paychecks during the year is called a tax REFUND. (and everyone should try to <em>minimize</em> this amount - why let the govt have interest-free use of your money?)</p>
<p>The paperwork you file with the IRS each year is called your tax RETURN.</p>
<p>Posts can get confusing when these terms are misused,</p>
<p>Sorry you are going through this- which is one more straw on the camel’s back from your parents. I agree with SC Mom that you may not qualify as a dependent. This whole thing is complicated-- your income in 2011 may factor here as well as college expenses. My suggestion is not to automatically assume Dad’s CPA will look out for your interests. You mention H&R Block- can you ask them to confirm you are no longer a dependent and let them walk you through this?</p>
<p>Misc words, I believe this is from finaid.org:
*Support Test. The taxpayer [parents] must have provided more than half of the dependent’s total support for the entire year…Support includes food, clothing, shelter, education, medical and dental care, recreation, and transportation…You must compare the dollar value of the support provided by the taxpayer with the total support the dependent [OP] received from all sources. *</p>
<p>More, another source: * As long as your **child’s income doesn’t exceed the amount you spent on support, **and meets the other tests, you can claim the child as a dependent. For example, suppose your daughter graduated from college in May, found a job in September and earned $20,000. As long as the amount you spent on her support exceeded $20,000, you can claim her as a dependent. However, if you claim your child as a dependent, she can’t claim a personal exemption on her own tax return. *</p>
<p>The age test also includes: under 24 and enrolled as full-time student for at least five months in 2011- did you graduate before May 30? There are restrictions on what expenses your parents can include in their totals- how they calc their costs of you living in the house, eg. How utilities may be split. I’m sorry there’s no easy, definitive answer.</p>
When I asked a tax question a couple of days ago (a rather complicated trust fund related question and a husband that was reluctant to let me file for an extension), I was told by a couple of CPAs that I was better filing an extension rather than filing and than doing an amended return as an amended return was more likely to attract an audit. I admittedly have no personal experience of it (and hopefully never will).</p>
<p>I graduated on April 30th, 2011. I was a full time student until then, self-supporting with loans. I significantly doubt my parents contributed more than I made this year, especially if my loans count as income, but the fact that they didn’t charge me rent confuses things. Calling H&R block is a good idea, I think I will do that on Monday. I am not trying to be difficult, I just don’t want to just blindly agree to this with no idea what is going on. I don’t trust a CPA I’ve never spoken to when I have no idea what conversations he has had with my dad and whether or not the info he has is even accurate. </p>
<p>I called my dad and tried to talk this out, and it didn’t go well. He just laughed at my questions and got angry insisting the CPA knows better than I do, and basically tried to invalidate any of my concerns without addressing them. All I really got out was that I wasn’t 100% confident I was still legally a dependent and he got upset and said since I was a full time student the first 3 months of the year I must be a dependent. I don’t think we’re presently speaking. This is ridiculous, I told him I would give him the paperwork but I just wanted to understand what was going on and make sure everything would work out okay. I was incredibly civil and accommodating. So now I am not sure what will happen. I am just trying to be an adult and be responsible with my money. I understand my parents would get a lot more money than I would by taking the exemption, but I am an independent adult now who is fighting hard to keep my head above water on my finances. Unless they’re actually entitled to the money I am not thrilled with the idea of giving it to them, if they HAD actually been paying 50%+ of my expenses I wouldn’t have struggled so much this year and wouldn’t NEED my tax refund so bad, but I will do it if I can just get my questions answered satisfactorily and make sure it’ll be okay. </p>
<p>We’ll see what happens. :\ I don’t think my dad wants to screw me over and I don’t want to screw him over either, I just want to be treated like enough of an equal for someone to EXPLAIN this to me rather than trying to force me by making me feel stupid.</p>
<p>If you are over 19, you have to have been a full time student for 5 months out of the year for your parents to claim you as a dependent. If you graduated April 30th, you do not meet this rule. It does not sound to me as if they can legitimately be claimed as their
dependent. </p>
<p>You might remind your dad that by signing your return (or an amended return) you are affirming that everything on the return is accurate to the best of your knowledge. If you are going to sign a return that says you were a dependent, you need to see the data that convince you that that is accurate.</p>
<p>Not charging you rent doesn’t matter, as I understand it- it’s the calculation itself of the value. There should be fair mkt value calc for your room (that’s also in the cpa doc) which is what they could rent the room for. And so on. </p>
<p>That link is from the Am Inst of CPAs; you can google the doc title and it brings up more current words. But, I don’t see any relevant changes.</p>
<p>They’ve challenged you in many financial ways already. I believe your tax refund is precious money to you. You’re stretched as thin as can be, right now. And still trying to be fair to them. In my mind, if they wanted to be, ahem, fair to you, they’d let this go. All things considered. It may be right to provide them with your bottom line, so they can be assured you met the 50% rule. But, as SCMom also notes, they can’t force you to change things (eg, amend) if you are in the right- and they shouldn’t try to bend the law or fabricate to make things better for themselves. Best of luck.</p>
<p>The OP is over 19 and wasn’t a full-time student for a full five months in 2011. That means the OP does not qualify as the parent’s dependent. Period, paragraph. The rest is irrelevant. </p>
<p>The parent would be violating federal law to claim the OP as a dependent for 2011, as would the OP if she were to file an amended return claiming to be a dependent. Neither the OP nor the parent want to go there, and the parent’s accountant should know better.</p>
<p>“Now my dad is upset and says that I need to send him a copy of my return so that his accountant can submit an amendment to the IRS so he can claim me.”</p>
<p>Nobody can submit an amendment for you. You have to sign it and mail it in.</p>
<p>bclintonk, I won’t give you a hard time, because I just went through this process myself. OP may not qualify as a dependent “child” but may qualify as a dependent “relative.” Unfortunately, you have to be a true expert in taxes these days even to determine the most trivial thing, like who qualifies as a dependent. RME (rolling my eyes). That is why I have not contributed to this thread until now. But in my inexpert opinion, although it might be nice to choose whose return benefits most from the exemption, there is supposed to be no choice: You do the calculations and you either are a dependent or you are not.</p>
My father filled out my stupid W4 himself and said I needed to claim myself in the first place.</p>
</p>