Thanks for the heads up! I've already talked to my parents about this, and they agree that since I'm paying for everything myself, I should claim myself. We calculated all the expenses and they definitely don't provide half my support anymore. I'm going to keep good records of all my expenses just in case though. Did the IRS require specific documentation for your situation?

The IRS wanted pretty detailed documentation from both of us. They asked for proof of payments for tuition, rent receipts, estimated food costs, medical expenses, and basically anything that counted as "support." They even requested utility bills and proof of who paid them. They also looked at how many months he actually lived with me versus on his own. The most important factor ended up being who paid for what, rather than just living arrangements. Since your parents agree with your assessment, you should be fine, but definitely keep good records of all major expenses - especially tuition payments, rent, and any large bills you pay yourself.

Yeah, TurboTax is super confusing on this! The question isn't whether you WILL be claimed, but whether you CAN legally be claimed based on the tests the others mentioned. I ended up using FreeTaxUSA instead because their questions were more straightforward about dependency status.

19 Does TurboTax charge you if you start but don't file with them? I'm worried about paying twice.

14 TurboTax only charges when you actually file or print your return, not for just inputting your information. You can work through the entire process, see your estimated refund, and then decide not to file without paying anything. What I did was complete everything in TurboTax, printed out the draft forms (there's an option to print without paying), and took those to my CPA. This saved me money because the CPA spent less time gathering and inputting my basic information since I'd already organized everything.

22 Did you bring your previous year's return to the CPA? I've heard they can sometimes find mistakes from prior years too.

I had to start from scratch since there's no direct transfer between TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA, which was annoying but not the end of the world. Just had my previous year's return pulled up on my laptop for reference. The interface is definitely different - less hand-holding than TurboTax but still very straightforward. I found it actually asked fewer unnecessary questions. For your simple situation, I think you'd find it super easy. The whole process took me about 30 minutes for both federal and state. The biggest adjustment was getting used to a different layout, but the savings made it totally worth it.

I've used both. Cash App Taxes is good if you want completely free federal+state, but FreeTaxUSA has better support for certain tax situations. Cash App struggled with my HSA contributions and some investment stuff last year. FreeTaxUSA's interface is also more thorough in my experience - it asks more detailed questions that might help find deductions. But if your taxes are super straightforward and you want totally free, Cash App is fine.

Thanks for the comparison! I do have some investment accounts and started contributing to an HSA this year, so maybe FreeTaxUSA would be better. $12-15 for state isn't a big deal if it means a more accurate return. Might give it a try this year.

Slightly off topic but how do you stay updated on tax law changes? I tried subscribing to irs.gov updates but the emails are overwhelming and filled with jargon. Is there a more user-friendly resource that's still accurate?

I find that the IRS Tax Professional page has more targeted updates than the general subscription, so that might be worth checking out even if you're not a tax pro. For a more digestible format, I actually rely on a few trusted sources: the Journal of Accountancy has good summaries of major changes, and the Tax Foundation puts out clear analyses of both existing and proposed legislation. Just be careful with any source that has a strong political leaning, as they sometimes present analysis with a particular slant. I always try to verify anything important by checking the actual text of laws or IRS notices.

Absolutely! I've noticed this trend too. Some of these accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers and make these dramatic claims about tax changes to drive engagement. The worst part is when they're selling courses based on "strategies" for tax changes that haven't even happened yet!

Exactly! I'm glad I'm not the only one noticing this. The engagement-driven nature of social media rewards the most alarming or exciting claims, not the most accurate ones. I've started immediately checking any tax policy claim against the actual IRS website or Congressional Budget Office reports. The reality is usually much more nuanced than what these "experts" claim.

This is helpful but I'm confused about the "qualified plan" part. Do I need to file something official with the IRS to set this up? And does it need to be available to all employees or can I choose who gets awards?

A qualified plan award means it's part of an established written plan that doesn't discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. You don't need to file the plan with the IRS, but you should have it documented in your employee handbook or as a separate written policy. The plan needs to be available to all employees - you can't just create it for specific people. However, the criteria can be based on genuine achievements that not everyone will meet. The key is that everyone theoretically has the opportunity to earn the award if they meet the established criteria. Also, you can't give more than $1,600 per employee per year for qualified plan awards, and no more than $400 per employee for non-qualified awards.

I tried this approach and got burned during an audit. The IRS agent specifically told me that ALL gift cards, regardless of amount, are considered cash equivalents and are therefore always taxable. They only allowed actual tangible gifts of minimal value (like company t-shirts, coffee mugs, or occasional meal) to qualify as de minimis.