<prompt> Human: Just looking to see if anyone is in the same position or has any experience with this... I graduated from college recently 2013 and lived independently from July-Dec of 2013 supporting myself and making about 40K for those months and also held a part-time job through college receiving ltd support. When I asked my parents if they were going to claim me as a dependent assuming they werent but just checking, they said that because they had supported me and my education during 2013 they were entitled to that return and we could negotiate splitting the difference. I looked up the definition of dependent according to the IRS, and told them that as I had provided half of my own support, I was going to claim myself as an exemption on my tax return. They said I was wrong and that they were entitled to that money at least in principal. Many emails were exchanged but my parents refused to let me claim myself. My dad does not have an income so the difference on his return would not be substantial, but he would receive a tax credit. Given that I owe them 10,000 for education and college living expenses and therefore could really use the return, I filed my return claiming myself as an exemption. My dad emailed me recently saying the IRS was unable to process his claim because he had claimed me as a dependent, and he was going to call the IRS and see what the next steps would be, including an audit if necessary. Has anyone been audited before? Do you know what you have to provide to prove you supported yourself? I am worried because my parents are far better at keeping records than I am  <response>: See this: Specifically page 16, which is the worksheet that will help define what constitutes support.Really what you should have done is solved the issue with your parents. The difference in tax burden between claiming yourself and not claiming yourself is not particularly significant, and not worth the hassle of being audited. Then again, the IRS probably isnt interested in diving into familial disputes and may just tell your dad to piss off and not claim you.As far as record-keeping goes, unless your parents have good records of your expenses they arent any better prepared for an audit as you are. Any transfer of money from them to you that isnt documented they wont be able to claim took place. To figure it out you should add up every dollar they gave you, including payments to your school for tuition, housing, food, etc, and compare that to your total expenses over the year.To be perfectly honest with you, you might be screwed, because tuition counts as a support item and unless you went to a pretty cheap school your expenses from July to December were probably lower than when you were in school. Also, every night you spent at your parents house can be claimed by them as providing room board, valued at a fair market rate.EDIT: Just FYI so you know what you probably gained by this whole mess, claiming yourself gets you a 3,900 deduction which at your tax bracket is under 1,000 in actual gain. 