Indianna preparers

[TAX4US]

Help: TP was a Part year In resident 2009. Filed federal claiming girlfried and their child as single status. Did not file PY Ind or pY va. State of Va is after TP now with a lein on Paycheck. I was able to get it stopped for 30 days. However VA does not allow claiming girlfriend unless allowed by or started in other state with certain requirements met. Does Ind allow this?

[Koss]

Dependent Exemption

However VA does not allow claiming girlfriend unless allowed by or started in other state with certain requirements met.

State of Va is after TP now with a lein on Paycheck.

Have you established with certainty that your client owes delinquent tax to Virginia because the exemption for his girlfriend was disallowed?

And even if your answer is yes, have you established with certainty why the exemption was disallowed?

I have never heard of this. I would want to see a written explanation from Virginia, specifically addressing this taxpayer's account, before reaching any conclusions.

I have no doubt that there was in fact a "lien on his paycheck," or a garnishment order. But the rest of it may be garbled information. Are you relying on something your client said, such as "they told me I owe tax from 2009 because they wouldn't let me claim my girlfriend"?

It is one thing to say that he owes tax, and that they are garnishing his paycheck. No doubts there.

It is another thing to say that he owes tax because Virginia disallowed the exemption for his girlfriend. That may or may not be accurate.

And even if that is accurate, it is yet another thing to assert that the exemption was disallowed because Virginia state law does not allow an exemption for a cohabitant. That's a leap I'm not ready to accept without hard evidence.

They might have audited the return, and disallowed the exemption because he couldn't prove that she lived with him, or that he supported her...

See my comments in the earlier thread, titled "Exemptions vs. Dependents," about state laws prohibiting sexual activity between unmarried partners. The Virginia law was declared unconstitutional several years ago by the Virginia Supreme Court.

BMK

[Koss]

Further Comments

VA does not allow claiming girlfriend unless allowed by or started in other state with certain requirements met.

The more I think about this, it is utterly bizarre. Most states simply say that whatever exemptions you claim on your federal tax return also belong on your state tax return. Is this crazy stuff explained somewhere in Virginia state tax instruction booklet?

You're getting one fourth of the story, with a lot of garbled information.

"Allowed by or started in other state with certain requirements met" sounds a lot like an argument involving common law marriage.

Some states recognize common law marriage; some don't. Contrary to popular belief, it usually has nothing to do with how long the couple has lived together. Rather, it has to do with the couple consciously entering into a marital relationship, and holding themselves out to others as a married couple.

If a couple establishes a common law marriage in a state that recognizes common law marriage, then that marriage will usually be recognized by other states--even if the other state does not recognize common law marriage. This is because the other state is not recognizing a common law marriage; it is recognizing a valid marriage from another state, which is required by the US Constitution.

When did you get involved in this mess with your client? It sure doesn't sound like you did the return in question. That's why I'm almost certain you're not getting an accurate picture.

Did your client get audited by Virginia, and tell them that his girlfriend is his "common law wife?"

If so, they would have told him, no, she's not, unless you established a common law marriage in another state.

All of this has nothing to do with whether he can claim her as a dependent under the rules for qualifying relative.

Did this guy file a joint return? Or claim that he had a domestic partnership?

I get clients all the time who have problems arising from a prior year, for which I did not prepare the return, and often the only thing they bring me is a bill from the taxing authority. They have no clue as to why they owe money.

TAX4US, I am not trying to insult your intelligence here, but...

Have you even seen the federal or state tax returns for the year in question?

BMK

[TAX4US]

thanks for the responce. I did see the lein but as of yet have not seen the returns. Anyway TP needs to produce some more valid info before I even attempt to dig into this. It would appear from the lein that TP didn't file either of these returns (states). Job for after season not now. Thanks.