Do my parents have to claim me as a dependent on their taxes in order for me to stay on their health insurance?
Zak S asked:
I’m a full time student that technically doesn’t live at home. I made $30k last year. Do my parents need to claim me as a dependent in order for me to stay on their health insurance (Blue Care Network)? Because i thought the only stipulation was that i had to be a full time student. Because the difference in my return checks would be like $3000 which is a lot, but if my parents have to send anything in to the health insurance company *which they never have and im 21* i don’t want them to just drop me, but i also don’t want to get charged with fraud.
If you are under 24 and your parents provided more than half of your support, then they can claim you as Qualifying Relative.
With 30K income, it is hard that your parents provided more than half of your support.
Read the requirements
Jss
1 Jun 09 at 9:00 pm
It would depend on the insurance “contract.”
The insurance company does not have direct access to your or your parent’s tax return, but can request copies from your parents if there is any dispute. If the insurance spells out that you must be a DEPENDENT, then you do. If it just says “full time student under 24″ but doesn’t say dependent, then you don’t.
Charles G
4 Jun 09 at 4:18 am
That depends on the terms of their insurance policy.
bud68
7 Jun 09 at 6:15 am
My insurance would cover my son in cases where he was not a dependent (similar to yours). However, if he was not a dependent by IRS terms, I was supposed to inform the company and they would tell me how much of the insurance coverage was taxable income to me. In my son’s case we didn’t quite get to the point of his not being a dependent when he got a job and got his own coverage, but I had done the research.
CarVolunteer
8 Jun 09 at 2:45 pm
For them to claim you on their return as a dependent, you can not have provided over 50% of your own support. Could this be possible? Who is paying for your college, living expenses, and all other expenses?
Then if they don’t qualify to claim you as a dependent, the insurance company will not let you stay on the policy. This is a standard for insurance companies now.
Laura H – H&R Block – Senior Tax Advisor 5
**This advice was prepared based on our understanding of the tax law in effect at the time it was written as it applies to the facts that you provided.
hrblock.laura
10 Jun 09 at 10:35 am
They probably can’t keep you on their insurance if you aren’t claimed as a dependent – depends on the policy though. But if they aren’t entitled to claim you and the policy requires that you are a dependent, then having you on their insurance is breaking the insurance company rules so if you actually had a claim, you wouldn’t be covered for it since the coverage and claim would be fraudulent. The ins co probably wouldn’t even check if you had a $50 claim, but would if you had a large one.
For most insurance companies, if you aren’t a dependent or are but aren’t in school full time, they have an age cutoff, usually 19. Have your dad check the policy.
Judy1
12 Jun 09 at 11:26 am