Support Test 2004

[Gretel]

Please help with support test for 2004.

Grandparents had kids over half of the year and are sure they provided over half of support. Parents never married. For one month grandparents received foster care payments. I know they don't count in 2005, but what about 2004?

How does child support count, back child support?

Thank you.

[theresa d]

as long as 50%

as long as the grandparents provided over 50% of support and the other test are met no problem with the dependency. i don't think one month of benefits would have much impact. foster care payments made to the grandparents for care of the children are not considered support paid by the taxpayer. hope this helps

[Black Bart]

Child Support

How does child support count, back child support?

Who is paying the child support and back child support?

[Gretel]

The father paid it some time ago to a state agency and when grandparents had children with them they got the money.

I already discovered a thinking mistake. If they spend this old child support on the children, then this is money provided by a third party. It probably doesn't matter that this just was some money sitting in the account of the child support agency.

[Black Bart]

Good chance

The grandparents probably have a good chance of getting the deduction, even if the father did pay some child support (unless it was a huge amount). Usually in these cases, they pay lots more for basic necessities than the parents. Think about the fair rental value of the house for the grandkids. What would it cost a stranger to rent their rooms? That's a big expense. Also food: divide the total year's bill by number of people in the household. Add utilities, school expenses, and maybe some medical and you'll probably have more than half.