What does it mean by "earned income less than half of the support you received"? Need help answering this tax question

This question is specifically checking if you're primarily supporting yourself through your own earnings versus being supported by others. Let me break it down in simpler terms: "Support" refers to the total cost of your living expenses (housing, food, clothing, medical, etc.). "Support you received" means all sources of support, including what you provide for yourself through working AND what others provide. If you're paying more than 50% of your own living costs through your job/earnings, then your earned income is MORE than half of your support, so you would answer "No" to this question. If someone else (parents, spouse, etc.) is providing more than half of your total support, and your own earnings cover less than half, then you'd answer "Yes." From what you described, it sounds like you're mostly self-supporting, so you'd likely answer "No" to this question.

Hey there! I went through the exact same confusion last year and spent hours trying to figure this out. That's when I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved my sanity. I uploaded a screenshot of that exact question and it explained everything in plain English - turns out I was overthinking it completely. The way they broke it down was really simple: "earned income" is what YOU earn from working, and "support" is the total cost of YOUR living expenses regardless of who pays for them. If your job pays for most of your living costs, you select "No" because your earned income is MORE than half your support. But honestly, if you're as confused as I was, just upload your question to taxr.ai and they'll clarify it instantly. Made my tax filing so much less stressful!

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and wow, it actually delivered. I had like 5 different tax questions that were driving me crazy (including a similar one about support) and I got clear explanations for all of them. What I really liked is that it told me WHY the question was being asked - apparently this support question relates to dependency tests and whether someone else might be able to claim you. Made so much more sense with that context! Definitely worth checking out if you're confused by tax terminology.

If you're still struggling with your tax questions and need to speak to an actual IRS agent (which I highly recommend for dependency questions), try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was skeptical at first, but after spending days trying to get through to the IRS on my own, I was desperate. They have this system that basically waits on hold with the IRS for you, then calls you when an actual agent is on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I had a similar question about support calculations last year, and the IRS agent gave me the exact guidance I needed. Much better than guessing or relying on software interpretations for these tricky questions. The IRS agent I spoke with cleared up my confusion in like 5 minutes.

I need to eat my words from earlier. After attempting to call the IRS myself and sitting on hold for TWO HOURS only to get disconnected, I gave Claimyr a shot out of pure frustration. Within about an hour and a half (while I was grocery shopping, not sitting by my phone), I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent. The agent confirmed that for the "earned income less than half of support" question - if I'm supporting myself through my own job, the answer is "No" because my earned income is MORE than half my support. The service literally saved me hours of my life. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

Just to make this super clear with numbers: Say your total annual expenses (rent, food, clothing, tuition, etc.) = $30,000. That's your "support" Scenario 1: - Your job earned you $20,000 - Parents gave you $10,000 = Your earned income ($20k) is MORE than half your support ($15k), so answer NO Scenario 2: - Your job earned you $12,000 - Parents gave you $18,000 = Your earned income ($12k) is LESS than half your support ($15k), so answer YES Hope that helps!

Wait, I'm still confused about this. Does this question have anything to do with whether someone can claim me as a dependent? That's what I'm worried about.

This is such a common source of confusion! I just went through this myself and here's what helped me understand it: Think of it this way - the IRS is trying to figure out if you're financially independent or if someone else is your primary source of support. The key is that "earned income" only includes money YOU made from working (wages, salary, tips, etc.). It doesn't include loans, gifts from family, scholarships, or other forms of support. So if your total living expenses for the year were $25,000 and you earned $18,000 from your job, then your earned income ($18,000) is MORE than half your support ($12,500), so you'd answer "No." But if you only earned $8,000 from work and the rest came from family help, loans, etc., then your earned income would be LESS than half your support, so you'd answer "Yes." The easiest way to think about it: Are you paying for most of your own life through your own job? If yes, answer "No" to the question. If someone else is covering most of your expenses, answer "Yes." Hope this helps clarify things!