College Students: Find out which filing status is right for you

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - College students, you may be wondering what to file as this tax season approaches.

According to the IRS, a dependent is someone under 24 who doesn’t provide more than half of their support.

Some students, like WKU student Andrea Bravo, may qualify for either. Bravo says she wanted to file as an independent to claim the previous stimulus checks.

She says, as she did more research, she found out becoming an independent would save her and her family money. As an independent, a student is able to claim education tax breaks.

According to the student, it was a scary process but paid off.

”I did talk to a financial advisor and said if it would affect my scholarships or if it would affect my rent or anything and they said since I’m not winning anything--I don’t have enough income, that it wouldn’t affect my financial aid or my FAFSA,” Bravo says.

For WKU students, you can contact Student Financial Assistance by email at fa.help@wku.edu or by phone Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST at (270) 745-2755.

For more information on filing requirements, visit the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) here.

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