<p>My sister ran into this a few years ago after she graduated. They figured out the taxes both ways and it was far more adventagious for her to claim herself. She gave my parents the amount of money they would have gotten if they claimed her and she kept the rest for herself. She wound up getting a couple hundred dollars extra this way.</p>
<p>I don’t remember if I claimed myself the year I graduated or not. I believe I made over 4k or close to it a year every year since I was 14 so that wouldn’t have been an issue.</p>
<p>HImom, we know of a very few families that have been able to create their own ‘group home’ as you described. It is a big undertaking, as your friend probably sees.
I don’t see us as having the ability, either physically or financially, to pull it off.
Kudos to your friend for taking it on; her son is fortunate.</p>
<p>Yes, my friend is amazing and has been working on this at various levels throughout her career, since her S was born. She has created at least a few organizations to help developmentally disadvantaged people interact more with others, gotten a few grants to further this, and helped keep her kid employed part-time in the cafeteria at the U where she works (after he quit his job at Ross when she took him on sabbatical to Prague).</p>
<p>It is a complicated process, but she has the sophistocation and resources to make this work and it looks like it is coming together. Her adult kids both have advanced degrees in applied psychology and both work with their older brother to optimize his capabilities. My friend is an amazing community resource and she and her family leave me in awe!</p>
<p>You all are wonderful–thanks again for the info and links. I keep telling friends that one reason I love CC is because it’s so efficient at getting information. This will be a learning process with our oldest–next hurdle is for him to get a job! ;)</p>