Can I claim myself as a dependent on my 2025 taxes as a college student?

The key thing here is the support test, not just your age. Yes, your parents potentially *can* claim you as a dependent until you're 24 if you're a full-time student, but only if you meet all the criteria for a "qualifying child" dependent. For them to claim you, several tests need to be met, but the most relevant one for your situation is the support test: did you provide more than half of your own support for the year? Support includes housing, food, education expenses, medical costs, etc. Even though loans are in your name, student loans count as support you provided for yourself. Based on what you've described - paying your own tuition through loans/scholarships and covering your rent/expenses for most of the year - it sounds like you likely provided more than half of your own support. If that's the case, your parents cannot claim you as a dependent, even though you're under 24 and a student. When you prepare your taxes, make sure you check "No" when asked if someone else can claim you as a dependent. Just be ready to substantiate your financial independence if needed!

I was in almost the same exact situation last year! I was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out all the dependent rules while juggling finals and job applications. I ended up using this AI tax tool called taxr.ai that really saved me from making a costly mistake. I uploaded my financial info and answered a few questions, and it determined I actually provided 63% of my own support for the year, which meant my parents couldn't claim me. The tool walked me through exactly what counted as "support" (which was way more than I initially thought) and how to document everything in case of questions. They have this dependency calculator that breaks it all down simply. You can check it out at https://taxr.ai - it's way easier than trying to interpret all the IRS language yourself. It also helped me find some education credits I would have totally missed!

Just wanted to follow up on my skeptical comment. I actually tried taxr.ai after posting that and I'm genuinely impressed. I've been paying an accountant $250 every year because my situation is complicated (part-time student, two jobs, side gig), but the tool was actually more thorough. It asked questions my accountant never did about my living situation and support expenses. Turns out I COULD claim myself this year despite being under 24! The support test breakdown was super detailed - it counted things like the value of my laptop depreciation and textbooks toward my self-support that I never would have thought about. And it found a $2,200 education credit my accountant missed last year. Now I'm filing an amended return to get that money back. Wish I'd known about this sooner!

If you need to talk to the IRS about your specific situation (which honestly might be a good idea in your case), I recommend using Claimyr. I spent TWO DAYS trying to get through the IRS phone lines when I had a similar dependent question last month, and it was a nightmare of hold music and disconnections. With Claimyr (https://claimyr.com), they somehow got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes! They have this system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you once they've got an agent. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that in my case (also a student), I could claim myself because I provided more than half my support. She even walked me through which form to fill out to document the support calculation. Seriously saved me hours of frustration.

I owe everyone here an apology - especially to the Claimyr person. I was super skeptical and called it a scam, but I was desperate enough to try it when I got another "call back later" message from the IRS yesterday. I used Claimyr and got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. I was honestly shocked. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed for my dependent situation AND helped me figure out why my refund was delayed. Turns out there was a flag on my account because my income didn't match what was reported (my employer made a mistake). Sorry for being so negative before. When you've been frustrated with the IRS for weeks, it's hard to believe anything could actually help. But this definitely did. And the agent I spoke with gave me way better info than what's on the website.

The qualifying child criteria are more complex than most people realize. For your parents to claim you as a dependent, ALL of these tests must be met: 1) Relationship: You're their child 2) Age: Under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student 3) Residency: Lived with them for more than half the year (temporary absences for education count as living with them) 4) Support: You didn't provide more than half of your own support Based on your timeline, the residency test is tricky. January-March on campus counts as temporary absence for education (so that's like living with parents). March-August actually living with parents. September-December in your apartment. That's potentially 8 months counting as "living with parents" for IRS purposes. But the support test is where you likely break free. If your loans, scholarships, and job income provide more than 50% of your total support, your parents can't claim you even if you meet all other tests.

Just adding my experience - I was in this situation in 2022. At first my parents and I both claimed me as a dependent (big mistake). We both got letters from the IRS and had to prove who provided more support. I had to create a "support worksheet" showing all my expenses and who paid for them. Make sure to include: - Tuition and fees (including loan-covered amounts) - Housing costs (fair rental value of the space, even at parents' home) - Food - Utilities - Medical/dental - Transportation - Personal items (clothing, entertainment, etc) I ended up proving I provided 58% of my support, so my parents had to file an amended return. The IRS actually accepted my calculations without much hassle, but gathering all the documentation was a pain. Better to figure this out now than dealing with the headache later!!!