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Can he claim the kids?

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    #1

    Can he claim the kids?

    A tax client lives with his girlfriend. Also in the home are 5 children related to her. She made a small amount of money last year and filed her own taxes claiming 3 of the children. Can he claim the exemption on the other 2 children as non-related living in his home? I had him do the "did I provide more than half" deal and she gets food stamps. He calculated the 2 childrens portion of those food stamps, does he also have to calculate a part of her income as well? He does make more than she does and she has shown her income on her return. I don't know why this has to get so convoluted. I wish they would simplify this part of the code.
    He is not claiming HOH or EIC, just dependency.

    Cathe
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    #2
    If he's not the father, then no. One of the first rules about claiming a Qualifying Relative is that the dependent can't be a Qualifying Child of any other taxpayer.

    I'm assuming that because the mother actually claimed three kids (which would max out that aspect of EITC), she doesn't meet the definition of "filing only for a refund of taxes withheld, therefore not a taxpayer." I'm also inferring that she made too much for her to be claimed as a dependent.

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      #3
      Agree, also assuming that the children she didn't claim could in fact be claimed as her Qualifing Children. [The "Also in the home are 5 children related to her" in the original post doesn't actually say that they are her Qualifying Children. Could be some third-cousins ...]

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        #4
        I finally talked to an IRS agent and the fact that he is not the father has no bearing. The fact that she filed a return and claimed credits nocks him out of the running and puts the extra kids back to the "they were her's to claim even if she didn't" catagory. This area of the tax law really needs streamlining!

        Thanks to both of you.

        Cathe

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by cathe View Post
          I finally talked to an IRS agent and the fact that he is not the father has no bearing. The fact that she filed a return and claimed credits nocks him out of the running and puts the extra kids back to the "they were her's to claim even if she didn't" catagory. This area of the tax law really needs streamlining!

          Thanks to both of you.

          Cathe
          Well, not sure what the agent was thinking. The fact that the man is not the father has a very large bearing on whether or not he can claim the children.
          You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by DonPriebe View Post
            Agree, also assuming that the children she didn't claim could in fact be claimed as her Qualifing Children. [The "Also in the home are 5 children related to her" in the original post doesn't actually say that they are her Qualifying Children. Could be some third-cousins ...]
            Could be the children of her mother's second husband's sister.
            I was told one time that would make each of them a "step cousin-in-law".
            "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectful" - John Kenneth Galbraith

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              #7
              Observation

              Oh, how I miss those days at "the storefront tax place" !!

              I may even strongly consider an addition to my new business cards: "NO Earned Income Tax Credit returns prepared."

              FE

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                #8
                FE Duke --I am with you on that - Thank goodness I do not prepare "walk in" unkown tax clients - only Referrals - and then those clients after long conversations of their tax situations

                Sandy

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by cathe View Post
                  I finally talked to an IRS agent and the fact that he is not the father has no bearing. The fact that she filed a return and claimed credits nocks him out of the running and puts the extra kids back to the "they were her's to claim even if she didn't" catagory. This area of the tax law really needs streamlining!
                  Either there was a miscommunication, or the IRS agent got it wrong.

                  But while there can be subtleties around dependency, particularly around support, the question you've raised is fairly basic. I'm not sure what you're stumbling over. Just start with the general tests, then the qualifying child tests (saving the support test for last), then (if necessary) the qualifying relative tests (again, saving the support test for last). The QC support test is usually trivial. So the only subtle part for you is making sure the girlfriend isn't a dependent (which may or may not be trivial). The tests are all stated in a reasonable order in Pub. 17 or Pub. 501.

                  If you want to get into the tricky parts of dependency, look at support for college students, vis a vis student loans, scholarships, and the difference between parents and grandparents. Or carefully go through all the examples in Pub. 596 (EIC).

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Oddly enough, the comment I referred to was not in the context of tax preparation.
                    It was conveyed to me at a family reunion.
                    And that's all I'm going to say about that...
                    "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectful" - John Kenneth Galbraith

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