Thursday, January 25, 2007

The IRS Man Cometh

I got my W-2 today. I have no idea what to do with it.

I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've never filed taxes myself before. My parents have filed for me on the assets in my name (which I guess means there are some--I think I'm a listed beneficiary on the trust that contains my grandfather's paintings) and claimed me as a dependent. Apparently, they can claim me as a dependent for this year, too, because I was a full-time student through May, with all of the tuition bills that full-time studenthood [at a small private college] entails.

I want to do a free e-file, but I am up against the barricade of not knowing how to start figuring out what to do about being a dependent versus filing independently, et cetera, et cetera.

But I promise you this: if I get a tax refund, it's going right into my Mini-E.

1 comment:

HC said...

The deal is, as I understand it, is that you lose your exemption if they claim you as a dependent, which is $3,300 for 2006. I'm assuming you earned more than $5,150 for the year, so you'll still qualify for the full standard deduction. (I'm also assuming that you don't have cause to itemize your deductions.)

You'll probably still get a refund even without the exemption. I did when I filed as a dependent.

Check this out for more details.

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e6153