I am 20 year old student.  Last year, I moved out of my parents' house
at the beginning of August, so I lived with them for seven months and
by myself for five months.  They think that I am a dependent and
cannot claim myself as an exemption for tax purposes.  I disagree.  I
don't want to try to get into how much of my support they provided,
but I read the tax code (form 501) and it also says that in order to
be considered a dependent, if the child is over 19, he or she must be
a full-time student at the end of the year, which means 12 credit
hours or more.  Last year I had split my student hours between a local
community college and Arizona State University.  I actually withdrew
from my classes at the community college during the semester because
trying to split up my time didn't go well with my work schedule.  The
community college transcript shows withdrawn from the classes,
however, I withdrew after the date for a refund, so I paid for the
classes but received no credit.  Had I completed everything, I would
have had 13 credit hours, 7 at the community college and 6 at the
university.  The next semester, Spring 2006, I only registered for 6
credit hours.  My question is this: if I withdrew from the classes so
I only had 6 graded hours, am I still considered a full time student
for th 2005 tax year?  Can they claim me as their dependent?

Reading from Publication 501
(http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf), the requirement is not that
you must be full time at the end of the year, but rather "under age 24
at the end of the year and a full time student".  On the following
page (pg 11), a student is defined as someone who is a full-time
student "during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the
year...the 5 calendar months do not have to be consecutive".

So, for starters, if you were a full time student during at least 5
months Spring semester 2005, (not necessarily college, this could
include high school, vocational school, or a variety of other things
enumerated on that same page), then all the add/drop stuff in the Fall
doesn't make any difference -- you are considered a full time student
for Tax Year 2005.

If that is not the case, and the only school was in the Fall semester,
I would consult with the registrars at each of the colleges, making
sure that each knows about classes taken at the other college.  They
probably get these questions on a regular basis and could tell you how
the dropped classes affect your student status.

And, of course, as with any questions of this sort, be sure to consult
with your tax professional (note the Google Answers general disclaimer
includes tax advice).