Anonymous wrote:What if it's 1/2 the year? Completely dependent till June, completely independent after.

Look at the rules in Pub 17 that 17:30 linked to. I think you're fine if she's a full-time student thru June bc I believe the IRS considers someone to be a full-time student for the entire year if they were a full-time student for 5 months. So you're probably ok for 2015 as long as your daughter doesn't claim her own personal exemption on her return. For 2016, if she's not a student at all, it will be another story and you'll have to go through the tests to determine whether she qualifies.

Generally speaking you can claim children as your dependents even if they their own return as long as:
1) you provided at least half their support
2) They are not filing as married filing jointly, and
3) They do not claim themselves for an exemption on their own returns.

Check out IRS Publication 17 for more info: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html

Or, this friendlier TurboTax article: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Return/INF12139.html

What if it's 1/2 the year? Completely dependent till June, completely independent after.

Everyone should file. Only one of you can claim her.

Yes. You file your taxes, and claim her as dependent. She filed her taxes and does not claim herself. This way she will get all of her withholding back and you still get your deductions for her. Do your return first to be sure there's no goof up.

She can file but not as independent or head of household. She can't be both dependent and independent.

My parents always claimed me even though I would have gotten $ back. They said it was my price to pay for them paying for my college, so I sucked it up. So if you claim your daughter, she can't get all the money back she would if she wasn't a dependent.

You can try it both ways on turbotax to see. Hers should be easy to run scenarios for.

DD is finishing college while living at home to cut costs. She has a part time job. Technically, she would get about $1000 back if she files, because she made under the minimum amount. Can she file and get her taxes back if we also claim her as a dependent on our taxes? She wants to file to get the money back but DH was suggesting that she doesn't file so that we can still claim her.