CircularJerkuler

Man, this is brutal for my first AMA, and i'm still getting 50% downvotes.

Alright, screw it. I'm just gonna post kittens for some easy karma.

What if it turned out that I wasn't an accountant at all? But actually I was Manti Te'o's girlfriend! How nuts would that be?

Spread the word!

This is actually a great question, as easy as it sounds.

First of all, as a college student, you don't have many options. If you have a job, and pay for college via student loans, you may have slightly more to work with.

For the second question, it's almost always better for your parents to claim you, because they will have more income, and therefore more tax to pay. To claim yourself, you must provide at least 50% of your own support (requiring a job and student loans). But I did find the scenario last year where it saved a few thousand by having the college student claim themselves.

File them all at once under a "Tax Amnesty Program". Most states offer these as well. The IRS is willing to forgive late payment if you are filing and paying several years. You will need to call the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Hotline to go this route.

Good luck!