If you claim her she cannot file seperatley which means if you are paying her schooling you won't be able to deduct it. However i think that ends at age 23. Never the less a tax accountant would normally tell that gratis if he had a chance at your business. They realy don';t charge much anyhow i've used them for years a and the whole deal usually less than 150 which is deductible next year. Beware H andR Block and Jackson Hewitt cost more and are no where as good. Accept no less than a CPA.

These rules enable you claim a child as a dependent.

Qualifying Children

To be claimed as a qualifying child, the person must meet four criteria:

Relationship — the person must be your child, step child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild or nephew).

Residence — for more than half the year, the person must have the same residence as you do.

Age — the person must be

* under age 19 at the end of the year, or

* under age 24 and a be a full-time student for at least five months out of the year, or

* any age and totally and permanently disabled.

Support — the person did not provide more than half of his or her own support during the year.

http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/a/Dependents_2.htm 

LadyHay:

You do not 'have' to claim her, regardless if you provide more than 50% of her support. It will adversely affect your final tax liability if you do not, unless you are so stinking wealthy the exemption is phased out. For the record I am a CPA so hopefully I know what I'm talking about!

Lauren - I claimed both my kids until it was no longer beneficial to do so. Best thing to do is calculate with and without for you and her. I believe she can file her own return and may be required to do so depending on income, but would not count herself as a dependent. Thing to look at:

If you claim her and have a refund of $400, and she has a refund of $50 without claiming herself, how does that compare with you not claiming her and her claiming herself on her return.

If you use turbo-tax it s/b easy to calculate both ways.

c3s

There are a whole lot of rules for residency and getting in-state tution. There are also a lot of rules about claiming kids as a deduction on your taxes.

There are also a lot of rules as to your HEALTH Insurance and what is your childs actual "status".

Go to a college planner and ask them.

Probably a well spent $100 bucks to cover your bases.

LadyHay - Is she trying to qualify for in-state tuition?

WOW--that is a lot of information. Thank you so much everyone.

Basically, she is in college right now at UNC for pre-med. Although she would love to get residency to get the cheaper "in-state" rates now that is not her main reasoning. The problem is the med schools down there are very hard to get into if you are from out of state. It is like 5-10% or something like that. So her chances of getting in the med school she wants are pretty low unless she gets residency down there.

Of course it is way more beneficial for me to keep her on my tax return. But I also don't want to keep her out of med school. I am not paying her for college--her grandmother is.

She is living full time in NC now and as of May will be renting an apartment. I do not provide 50% support for her anymore as she pays her own cell as well as other things. I pay her car and medical insurance.

A: Yes, taxes suck.

LadyHay - as far as the tuition goes, if she does establish residency, make sure she checks with the school about residency requirements for "in-state tuition". I moved to New Hampshire for school (UNH) and after a year there (living in NH full time) I tried to use my residency to get the in-state tuition. They had a rule where you had to furnish proof that you had lived in the state for at least a full year WITHOUT going to school to qualify as a NH resident for tuition purposes.

This doesn't answer your tax question, but I figured I'd chime in. Good luck to her (and you!).

I have filed a tax return for my daughter since she was 6. she had gotten an inheritance from my aunt and with a w9 for income a return was necessary and still is, she is 21 now. The main thing is you are counting her as a deduction. Definitely check with a tax preparer, they can give you the options.

She can claim and get her own money!!!

No double dipping.....U can get Audited if you claim her and she does it also. Dont know how much the fine is if caught!!