Can I still file my taxes as a dependent if I worked but my dad paid my tuition?

It's not actually your choice whether you file "as a dependent" - it's about whether someone else CAN claim you as their dependent. Based on what you've shared, your dad likely CAN claim you as his dependent. There are several tests for dependency status. For a parent claiming their child who's a student, you need to: be under 24 at the end of the year, be a full-time student, have lived with your parent for more than half the year (dorms during school count as living with them), and they must provide more than half your financial support. With your dad paying tuition and housing, he's probably providing over half your support. You still need to file your own tax return if you earned over the filing threshold (about $12,950 for 2024 income), but you'll check the box that says "Someone can claim you as a dependent." This affects which tax credits you're eligible for, but you'll still get any refund of taxes withheld from your paychecks that exceed what you actually owe.

I was in this exact situation last year and was totally confused about the dependency status and how it affected my education credits! I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze my W-2, 1098-T for tuition, and my dad's info to figure out the optimal filing strategy. It showed us exactly who should claim what to maximize our combined refund. The software explained that since my dad paid my tuition, he should claim the education credits (American Opportunity Credit) on his return, which saved him about $2,500. I still filed my own return and got back all my withheld income tax. The analysis showed us we'd get about $1,800 more combined than if we'd filed the other way!

Wanted to follow up about my skepticism regarding that taxr.ai site that was recommended. I reluctantly tried it after getting nowhere with figuring out my son's situation (he's working part-time while in college, and I pay his tuition). The site actually helped way more than expected. We uploaded his W-2, my tax info, and his 1098-T, and it laid out exactly how we should file to maximize our combined refund. Showed us that I should claim him and the education credits since my income allows for the full American Opportunity Credit. Saved us about $1,900 compared to how we were planning to file! It clearly explained the dependency tests and which education expenses qualified. Just wanted to share since it genuinely helped our complicated situation.

If anyone's trying to call the IRS to get clarity on dependency status, good luck! I spent 3 weeks trying to get through to someone for this exact situation with my son. Finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an agent (you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). The IRS agent confirmed that as long as you provide more than half of your child's total support for the year, you can claim them - even if they work. "Support" includes tuition, housing, food, medical, etc. My son made about $9,000 last year, but I paid $16,000 in tuition plus housing and food, so I was well over the "half support" threshold. They also explained that my son still files his own return but checks the "someone can claim you as dependent" box, and I get to claim the education credits, which saved us a bunch.

Ok I need to eat my words about that Claimyr service. After another week of failing to reach the IRS about my dependent situation, I caved and tried it. Within 2 hours they had an IRS agent on the line for me. The agent clarified everything - since I'm paying over half my daughter's support (her tuition, housing and insurance exceed her part-time job earnings), I can claim her as a dependent AND take the education credits. She still files her own return with her W-2 income but checks the box that someone can claim her. Honestly worth it just to have confirmation directly from the IRS instead of guessing or getting conflicting advice online. The agent even helped me understand which form I needed to document the support calculation if I ever got audited.

Just wanted to add something important - if your parent claims you as a dependent, you can't claim your own education credits (like the American Opportunity Credit) even if you paid some expenses yourself. That credit goes to whoever claims you. Also, being claimed as a dependent might affect your eligibility for stimulus payments if they do another round. During the pandemic, dependents over 17 didn't qualify for some stimulus payments, though this could be different for any future payments.

Don't forget to look at your state tax rules too! In my state (Virginia), the rules for who can be claimed as a dependent follow federal rules, but the tax benefits can be different. My daughter works part-time while in college, and I claim her federally, but there's a special deduction in our state that she can claim on her state return even while being my dependent.