<prompt> Human: Right now, Im fully funding my college education. Housing, food, cell phone, internet, tuition, books... Its all completely on me. The two things my dad pays for are food when I come home for the summer, and my car and health insurance both of which his company pays for. He makes so much money, that I get zero financial aid, because the FAFSA comes back and says that he should be contributing 46,000 a year based on his income. When I move out when I turn 22, hes planning on marking me as a dependant so that he can get more money from his taxes.Im not sure if its more financially sound yet, but wouldnt me not being a dependent be better for me financially? I dont WANT to be on welfare, but I know I may not have a choice. And I also know that I wont be able to if Im still marked as a dependent. Ill also be paying more taxes. If it is better for me financially, what legal action can I take to remove my dad from my finances? Assistant: Tell him your filling independently, let the IRS deal with himHuman: Would I win? He claims that he would win and Id have committed tax fraud if I file separate...  <response>: If he covers more than 50 percent of your living expenses, you are a dependent. If he does not, he cannot claim you. There are specific rules about this, its not really winning or losing. If you are living with him for 6 or more months out of the year, that meets one of the requirements for dependent. My recommendation would be to file your own separate taxes as soon as you are able to, and dont tell him about it either. When he goes to file electronically the system will likely not be able to allow him to enter in your social security number because you will have already entered it on your own taxes.If he ends up filing before you and YOU are unable to file due to your social security number already being on another return, then go ahead and file a paper return.The IRS will see that the same social security number has been claimed twice once for a dependent and one as an individual non-dependent, and that will basically raise a red flag.That said, if you technically are a dependent, you can file your own taxes as a dependent. You just mark the box when it asks you to.And to be fair to your dad, his company probably helps pay for insurance, but he has to pay his own share for each of the family members on his plan. There are very few companies who pay the whole thing. Keep in mind that if he revokes insurance in retaliation, it will likely cost you A LOT to get it on your own unless you find a job that can cover you.Based on your modest income, you might not get a lot back if you file on your own. Your dad might get more for you if you are a dependent. Would he be willing to pay you back the amount hed get for you as a dependant? I filed taxes this year for a mother and daughter. The daughter was a dependant but working multiple jobs. I determined how much she would have gotten if she had filed independently, and the mom basically gave her daughter that amount out of her own tax refund. This was very kind of the mother to do in this case, but I know not all parents would. 