<prompt> Human: Hi,I filed my taxes back in January already, but I had a few questions about my return when I file again next year. Im 22 years old and my parents still claim me as a dependent. I made a net income of about 11000 last year. Im a student, but my parents claim those tax credits. I have some friends who had to file and probably had a income of 8000 and their parents also claimed them. We were talking at dinner yesterday and they received 1100 back total while I only got 9 dollars back...I know Ive heard people say HR block isnt really the best place to file, but I know nothing about taxes and they filed my taxes. I claimed 1 on my W-4 as well so I do have a lot of income being withheld. I also have other deductions pretax through my work place such as health insurance and etc which was already taken out and applied accordingly. So how do I get a maximum tax return next year because it seems like I worked just a little more than my friends, but they were in the same shoes as me, parents claimed the tax credits and them but they still received in the thousands for a return. And if their parents claimed them doesnt that mean they basically cant apply any credits since theyre filing as a dependent? Because they hadnt claimed any other deductions anyway.  <response>: Okay first off, your tax return is what you file. Your tax refund is what you get back.The amount of your refund is inconsequential, its just the difference between what you withheld in taxes throughout the year and your actual tax liability. The reason your friend received more of a return is because they likely claimed 0 on their W-4, so more was withheld each paycheck. You claimed the correct amount, so the proper amount was withheld from each paycheck.The difference between you and your friend is that your friend received less money throughout the year, and got it back when they filed their tax return. It wasnt free money. 