Doing my taxes through the internet. It is very basic since i am college student who had a small part time job for 2013 (<$1,000 gross wages)

The confusing this is that i am 23 and will turn 24 this year and thus qualify as a independent for FAFSA and qualify for Grants. I wouldnt qualify as a dependent.

But I also understand that FAFSA filing status is completely separate than IRS.

But because I used student loans to pay for all my expenses, and the income from my part time job, I still can't claim myself as independent and have my parents not claim for for this upcoming tax filing, right?

If I did claim myself as independent, checked the box that states "I provided more than half my support" and then used the education tax credits and personal exemption with only $1,000 of 2013 gross wages, would that be sketchy and send off a red flag to the IRS? Even though my parents don't support me and my student loans pay for my expenses?

#1;Being considered an independent student is not merely a matter of being responsible for your own educational expenses. You must meet certain criteria to be declared an independent student for the purposes of the FAFSA:you should be 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year.
As you mentioned here, Financial aid dependency status is completely separate from IRS dependency status. If the student cannot answer yes to any of the dependency status questions on the FAFSA, he is dependent for financial aid purposes. It doesn't matter whether or not his parents can or do claim him as a dependent for tax purposes with the irs. If the child is under 24, a full time student, and does not provide more than 50% of his/her own financial support, then you can claim him/her as a dependent on your taxes. (scholarships do not count as part of providing their own support).For FAFSA the student is usually a dependent if they are under 24 (and are not a veteran, have a dependent of their own etc etc). Being claimed or not as a dependent on taxes has no impact on determining whether a student is a dependent on FAFSA.

#2;I guess it depends; to be claimed as a dependent, you must meet the requirements; you need to be under age 24 and a full-time student for at least five months out of the year; you did not provide more than half of his or your own support during the year. you must in your home for more than half the year.So unless you provide more than half of your own support, even if you are over 25 years old, aslong as your gross income is less than 43,900 for 2013, you can be claimed as a dependent.

#3;no; if you are eligible to be claimed as a dependent, the education credits are claimed by your parents. If you have educational expenses, you may be eligible to claim the American Opportunity( or AOC, You would have to be 24 or older), Hope or Lifetime Learning credits when filing your income taxes. Only certain education-related expenses---such as tuition, books, student activity fees, supplies and equipment---are allowed by the IRS. the American Opportunity Credit can be claimed for four years. There is no limit on the Lifetime Learning Credit. You can’t claim both aoc and lifetime learning credits in the same year. If you qualify for the AOC credit you may get the refundable portion.aslongas you are not a dependent of any person,you can claim your edu credit.


#4;correct;as mentioned above.