Did I actually support myself financially in 2021 for tax purposes?

Thanks for the clarification! So even though I'm using my parents' address, I should still answer "yes" since I covered my own expenses? That makes sense. For the stock, I don't think I got a 1099-B form from the app I used (it was just a small amount). Will the IRS know about it if I didn't get a form? Should I just estimate what I made?

Yes, exactly - use your parents' address for mailing purposes but answer "yes" to supporting yourself since you covered more than half your own expenses with your income. Regarding the stock transaction, even if you didn't receive a 1099-B, you're still legally required to report the gain. Some brokers don't send forms for very small transactions, but the requirement to report remains the same. You should have access to your transaction history in the app - use that to report the accurate purchase price ($30) and sale price ($90) on Schedule D and Form 8949. The IRS matching system might not flag such a small amount, but proper reporting protects you from any future issues.

How exactly does the analysis work? Does it just look at my documents or does it actually give specific tax advice for my situation? I'm confused about whether I count as independent since I pay my own rent but my parents still cover my health insurance.

Is this just another paid service that's going to cost more than my actual tax refund? I've tried other "helpful" tax tools before and they always want to charge hidden fees once you're halfway through the process.

The analysis works by scanning your documents and identifying income sources versus expenses. It's more than just looking at documents - it applies actual tax rules to your specific situation and shows you which expenses count toward the support test. So for your situation with health insurance, it would factor that in as part of your total support calculation. This isn't one of those bait-and-switch services. I was skeptical too after getting burned by other tax tools. What I liked is that it gives you the analysis information upfront so you understand your situation before making any decisions. It helped me realize I was actually providing 68% of my own support even though I thought it might be closer to 50% since my parents helped with some bills.

How does this actually work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS without waiting forever. Do they just put you at the front of the line somehow?

Seems fishy. Why would I pay a service to call the IRS when I can just call them myself? I bet they're just using some loophole that'll get shut down, or they're not actually connecting you to real IRS agents.

It's not about putting you at the front of the line - they use an automated system that continually redials the IRS using multiple lines until one gets through. Then they immediately transfer that successful connection to you. It's basically doing the waiting and redialing for you. I was skeptical too at first. But it's legitimately connecting you to the actual IRS call center - same people you'd talk to if you called directly and waited. The difference is you don't have to keep your phone tied up for hours hoping to get through. I spoke with a real IRS representative who looked up my specific information and answered all my questions about dependency status. The peace of mind from getting official answers was worth it for me.

Wait, so if my parents are paying my college tuition but I pay for my apartment and all living expenses, does that mean they're still supporting me for tax purposes? Tuition is like $15k but my living expenses are maybe $12k that I pay myself.

Yes, that's exactly right. If your parents are paying $15k for tuition and you're paying $12k for living expenses, then your total support is $27k. Since your parents are contributing more than half of that total ($15k > $13.5k), they are considered to be supporting you for tax purposes, not you supporting yourself. This is why the support test trips up a lot of students. Your tuition and education expenses are a major part of your total support calculation. So even if you feel independent because you pay your own rent and daily expenses, large education expenses can tip the scale in your parents' favor for tax dependency purposes.

No no no! That's tax fraud. You need to file state taxes where you actually LIVE, not where your mail goes. If you're physically living in California for most of the year, you're a California resident for tax purposes regardless of your mailing address. The state tax authorities aren't stupid - they can easily see if you're employed in California, have bank accounts there, are registered for school there, etc. Don't risk it!