College Student Confused About Taxes - Do I Need to File with Low Income?

That's a common misconception many students have! Even though your parents claim you as a dependent, you still might need to file taxes depending on your situation. For 2025, as a dependent, you generally need to file if your earned income is more than $14,200. With $11,500 in earnings, you're under that threshold. However, the withholding on your paychecks happens automatically based on your W4 form, regardless of whether you'll ultimately owe taxes. The good news is you can probably get most or all of that withheld money back when you file a tax return. Even if you're not required to file, it's definitely in your interest to do so since that's how you'll get your refund! As for adjusting your W4 to reduce withholding, yes, you can do that. Since you know your total income will be below the filing threshold, you could claim exemption from withholding on your W4. Just be careful that your income doesn't unexpectedly increase and push you over the threshold.

Just wanted to share my experience - I was in your exact situation last year and found a super helpful tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that saved me a ton of headache. I was also a dependent with about $12k in campus job income and wasn't sure what to do. The website analyzed my situation and confirmed I should definitely file to get my withholding back. It explained exactly which forms I needed and walked me through the process step by step. The best part was it explained everything in simple terms and checked if I qualified for education tax credits - which I did! Got back way more than I expected.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai - it was actually super helpful for my situation! I was worried about my DoorDash income but the site walked me through everything. It explained that I needed to file because of self-employment taxes even though my total income was low, and showed me exactly which forms to use. The best part was discovering I qualified for the American Opportunity Tax Credit because of my tuition payments, which I had no idea about! Even after accounting for taxes on my DoorDash income, I'm still getting a decent refund. Definitely filing taxes from now on instead of assuming I don't need to!

If you're having trouble getting answers directly from the IRS about your specific situation (which I definitely was as a student), try using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have a service that gets you through to an actual IRS agent without the typical 2+ hour wait. Check out how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I used it last year when I had a similar question about being a dependent with a campus job. I needed to know if I could claim certain education expenses even though my parents claimed me. Got connected to an agent in about 15 minutes who answered all my questions and helped me understand exactly what I needed to do.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to resolve a question about my education credits as a dependent. It worked exactly as described - I got a call back when they reached an IRS agent and was able to get clear answers about my specific situation. The agent confirmed I could file to get my withholding back even as a dependent, and explained exactly how to handle my scholarship income (which was my main confusion). Saved me hours of frustration and probably a mistake on my taxes that would have cost me money. Sometimes good things actually are real!

Make sure you check if you can claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or Lifetime Learning Credit. Even if your parents claim you as a dependent, they might be able to claim these education credits which can be worth up to $2,500. If they don't qualify because their income is too high, in some cases you might be able to claim it yourself.

Don't forget to look at your state tax situation too! Even if you don't need to file federal, some states have lower thresholds. I was in your same situation in GA and still had to file a state return.

Since you're in South Carolina, you're actually in luck! SC has a pretty straightforward tax situation for students. You mentioned that SC state tax is listed on your paystubs but no amounts are being deducted - that's likely because SC has a standard deduction of $12,000 for single filers in 2025, so with your $11,500 income, you probably won't owe any SC state taxes. However, I'd still recommend filing both federal and state returns. For federal, you'll get back that $1,250 in withholding since you're under the filing threshold. For SC, even though you might not owe anything, filing ensures you get any state withholding back (if any was taken) and creates a record. One thing to watch out for - make sure your parents aren't planning to claim education credits based on your tuition expenses. If they are and their income is within the phase-out limits, that could affect whether it makes sense for you to remain a dependent. The coordination between your tax situation and theirs is worth discussing as a family to make sure everyone gets the maximum benefit.