Welcome Guest. Register Now!  



Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 01-20-2012, 11:32 PM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 1
Gross Annual Income and Claiming Children

According to my GF's divorce decree, she cannot claim her children on her taxes unless her gross annual income equals or exceeds $22,000. We plan to get married, will my income then come into play towards that figure?

(Divorce State = Texas / Now living in Arizona)

Also, if we stay unmarried, and she and the kids live with me for the entire year, and she stays unemployed, I know I can claim them, but how will it work for the children, if the bio father is claiming them?

Thank you for any assistance



Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Reddit! stumble!bookmark in google!Share on Facebook!
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 01-21-2012, 02:12 AM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,258
“We plan to get married, will my income then come into play towards that figure?”---->I guess so;then you can claim, in your joint return, her kids as your qualifying child(ren)/qualifying relative(es) as long as she is the kids’ custodial parent. By filing a joint tax return, bothof you report all your income, deductions, and credits. Both spouses must sign the return, and both spouses accept full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information reported on the tax return. The IRS cautions, Both of you may be held responsible, jointly and individually, for the tax and any interest or penalty due on your joint return. One spouse may be held responsible for all the tax due even if all the income was earned by the other spouse.


“Also, if we stay unmarried, and she and the kids live with me for the entire year, and she stays unemployed, I know I can claim them, but how will it work for the children, if the bio father is claiming them?”---->In this case, you can NOT file your return as head of ho--->se hold status as her kids are NOT your qualifying children/qualifying relatives. However, on your return you can claim totally 4 exemptions; you, your GF and her two kids. Since you provided more than half of your GF's/her kids’ support and she had $0 income and she lived you all year , she(her kids are) is your qualifying relative and entitles you to a $3,650 exemption for 2011. Since you can claim the mom's(your GF) exemption, the kids are NOT qualifying children to the mom and they are NOT qualifying children to the bio dad as you are the one who met the support test for both your GF and her kids. As soon as she is a dependent, she can't have dependents of her own or claim EIC. If she actually files for EIC, you can't claim her. Generally, only the custodial parent, I guess your GF, is eligible to claim some tax breaks. However, the custodial parent can waive her right to claim the dependents in favor of the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent, the bio-father, would then be able to claim the dependents’ personal exemption. Even after releasing the claim to a dependent, the custodial parent would still be eligible to claim the following child-related tax benefits: head of household filing status;child and dependent care tax credit ;earned income credit, and exclusion for dependent care benefits.The biggest hassle will be if the dad tries to claim the kids when he doesn't meet the support test. The IRS won't allow 2 taxpayers to claim the same children. If he files first, then you will have to file on paper. If you both claim the kids, you will get mail from the IRS. The first letter will ask for both you and the dad to check your records and whomever is wrong to file an amended return. The second letter (when no 1040X shows up) will ask to see your records showing that the children lived with you and you provided 51% of the support. Once you provide these, the IRS will fix the other return.


Last edited by Wnhough : 01-21-2012 at 02:17 AM.


Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Reddit! stumble!bookmark in google!Share on Facebook!
Reply With Quote
Ads
Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What is Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)? TaxGuru Income 0 01-13-2012 02:24 PM
How to calculate Adjusted Gross Income? JerseyGuy Income 1 01-06-2010 02:26 PM
What is the IRS definition of Gross Income? TaxGuru Income 0 08-12-2009 01:57 PM
Would unemployment & disability income be taxable for NJ gross income tax purposes? TaxGuru New Jersey 0 10-03-2008 10:58 PM
Why IRA's for Children with earned income really make sense? TaxGuru General 0 01-26-2008 05:06 PM

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Google Buzz Rss Feeds

» Categories
 
Individual
 » Income
 » IRA/Sep
 » Medical
 
Corporations
 » Payroll
 
Forum for CPAs
 
Financial Planning
 
 
 

» Recent Tax Q&A
No Threads to Display.