Checking for clarity…you paid $22,000 in 2016 for your education? Not including any loans, scholarships. Grants or work study?
I don’t quite understand how you are not sure if your income is $1,000 or $30,000. Is that earned income?
Do you or your parents electronically file tax returns?
The second person to e-file who uses the social security number (either you or your parents) will have their return rejected.
Either you are willing to gather the documentation that you REALLY supported yourself…or you aren’t, that is YOUR problem.
Support is not just out-of-pocket education expenses, it is also housing, food, clothing, health insurance. Did you or your parents provide that?
And how were you able to earn that much money while attending college?
Your parents can only claim you as a dependent if they meet the support test.
Whoever claims your exemption will have to be able to show that they are eligible to claim it.
One year I mixed up one number of my daughter’s SSN. The IRS disallowed her as a dependent and all the credits/deductions for her (child credit, personal exemption; I had another child so the HOH status for me was okay). The rest of the form was processed, and they sent me a bill for about $4k instead of a refund of a few hundred. It was easily straightened out by phone. About 3 years later I got a bill from the state because it had received a copy of the original denial (my state bases a lot of the state tax on the federal return) but not of the correction. I had to order a tax transcript from the feds to send to the state, and that too was fixed but it took 6-8 weeks.
If OP can file as an independent person, do it first (Jan) but tell your parents you are taking yourself and they shouldn’t claim you. No need for the IRS to get involved in a family discussion.