Two of the common tax questions for college students who have paid jobs or scholarships are: Do I need to file a federal income tax return? Can I claim an exemption on my return? The example below helps you to determine if you need to file a tax return and can claim an exemption on your return.
Example: John is a 20-year-old full-time college student and single in 2015. His only income is $10,000 wage from his summer job in 2015. His expenses in 2015 include $40,000 tuition, $10,000 rent and $6,000 food plus $2,000 clothing and $2,000 travel expense. John's parents paid most of his expenses for him. John wants to know if he needs to file a return and if he can claim an exemption on his return.
Step 1: Determine if you are a dependent.
Go through the 5 tests on Table 4. Tests To Be a Qualifying Child to determine if John is a qualifying child. Since he meets all 5 tests, he is a qualifying child. Because he is a qualifying
child, he is his parents’ dependent; therefore, he will not be able to claim
personal exemption on his return.
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Step 2: Determine if you need to file tax return.
Since John is a dependent, he should check Table 2. Filing Requirements for Dependents to determine if he needs to file a return. Based on the filing requirements and the fact that John is single and his earned income is over $6,300 in 2015, he needs to file a return.
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