<prompt> Human: I am currently a junior at college and pay for everything myself through work and school loans. I am preparing my taxes and will get a decent amount of money back if I am claiming as an independent and will either owe money or just not receive or owe anything if my parents claim me as a dependent.They were told that it is illegal for them to not claim me as a dependent because I am between the ages of 18 and 24 and am currently in school. Is this really the case? Especially when they provide 0 income to me at all? If housing matters at all, I have an apartment and have not lived with my parents for over a year, and pay for it all through work and not through student loans.  <response>: The support test for qualifying child says if you provided more than half the cost of your support for the year, then no one can claim you as a qualifying child dependent.If you cannot be claimed as a qualifying child then they might still be able to claim you as a qualifying relative. But the gross income test for qualifying relative states that if you had more than 4050 income in the year, they cant claim you as a qualifying relative dependent. Also, if they did not provide more than half your cost of support, they cant claim you as a qualifying relative dependent.See all the tests here in Chapter 3: So, it would be illegal for them to claim you as a dependent if you dont meet the tests for qualifying child or qualifying relative. Exactly the contrary of what you have been told. 