Dependent Care with a deceased spouse

[TheGoodnShawn]

Good Morning everyone,

I hope that your Tax Season is off to a uneventful start.

I have a quick question to anyone who may have some experience with this.

A Married couple is only able to receive credit for "Dependent Care" if both parties have earned income. The exception to this rule is if the Spouse with no earned income was either in school, disabled, or has passed.

In working these scenarios, I am able to get the credit for the spouse who both were in school or disabled, but not for the spouse who has passed.

Is there further stipulations concerning a spouse that is deceased?

*Spouse passed in January of 2010. No income was earned at all for the year.

Thanks in advance

Shawn Miller
Atlanta, GA

[Burke]

TP is eligible to file MFJ since spouse died in 2010, but this is not mandatory. The 2441 is treating it as if the spouse did not work and had no income, so credit is eliminated. What happens if you file HOH? Would meet the requirement that he "was unmarried.....at the end of the year," IMO. (As long as he/she had not remarried.) Run the numbers and see what the tax differences are.

[erchess]

Call your software company

and ask for advice. You have I assume entered in the fact that spouse is deceased right? The only other thing I can think of would be to tick the box that she is a full time student since we know the man should be getting the credit.

[TheGoodnShawn]

@Burke, yeah, filing HOH would hurt because of the Standard Deduction difference. Looking through the publications for form 2441, it clearly says that one could still claim this credit if the TP files MFJ when there is a deceased spouse. I just can't get it to do it....LOL

@Erchess, I was thinking the same thing, but even though it solves the problem I am bothered by the fact that I don't have the true method to handle this....

Thanks to you both

[DonPriebe]

Good Question

Before you start blaming the software, as yourself how would you do it if you were filling in the forms manually. The 2441 form does not mention a deceased spouse at all. The instructions for the 2441 refer you to Pub 503 for a spouse who died during the year. And Pub 503 says you can claim the credit with a deceased spouse on a MFJ return, but gives no clue as to how.

Oops - I found it. Page 10 of Pub 503

Surviving spouse. If your spouse died during the year
and you file a joint return as a surviving spouse, you are not
considered married for purposes of the earned income
limit. Use only your income in figuring the earned income
limit.

So you just over-ride line 5 with the amount from line 4, like a single person would do.

[TheGoodnShawn]

Thanks Don

That is exactly what needed to be done. I really appreciate that.

Good Night