EITC question interesting situation!

[nwtaxlady]

Eighteen year old high school student gets pregnant. Spent more that 50% of her time at the boyfriends house who he is a high school student also and lives at home with his parents.

She had the baby and also worked and made $6917. She is filing her own tax return and claiming herself.

Question, can she also claim her baby? And can she claim EITC? The boyfriend may have worked a little and they lived with his parents. I know nothing about his parents or the boyfriend.

Help please.

[kathyc2]

Eighteen year old high school student gets pregnant. Spent more that 50% of her time at the boyfriends house who he is a high school student also and lives at home with his parents.

She had the baby and also worked and made $6917. She is filing her own tax return and claiming herself.

Question, can she also claim her baby? And can she claim EITC? The boyfriend may have worked a little and they lived with his parents. I know nothing about his parents or the boyfriend.

Help please.

If the teen mom is a qualifying child of someone else, like her parents, she is not eligible to claim EIC.

[nwtaxlady]

but....

the teen Mom is not a qualifying child for her parents because she did not live with her parents more than half the year.

And not a qualifying relative for the boyfriends parents because she's not related and did not live with them all year.

[Roland Slugg]

Based on all the facts provided above, the teenage mother can:

(1) Claim the child as her dependent,
(2) Claim the EITC, and
(3) Claim the child tax credit.

The father of the child might also be able to claim the baby as his dependent, but that would appear to be unlikely, as he is probably a dependent of his own parents. The baby, of course, may be claimed as a dependent on only one of the parents' tax returns. The dependency exemption is not the most important factor in this situation, as neither the young mother nor the father needs the exemption in order to offset all his or her taxable income. The filer's own personal exemption and standard deduction will do that. The value of the child from a tax standpoint is in the EITC and the CTC.

It would be a very good idea to double-check the facts carefully before proceeding with the girl's return.

[taxea]

Based on all the facts provided above, the teenage mother can:

(1) Claim the child as her dependent,
(2) Claim the EITC, and
(3) Claim the child tax credit.

The father of the child might also be able to claim the baby as his dependent, but that would appear to be unlikely, as he is probably a dependent of his own parents. The baby, of course, may be claimed as a dependent on only one of the parents' tax returns. The dependency exemption is not the most important factor in this situation, as neither the young mother nor the father needs the exemption in order to offset all his or her taxable income. The filer's own personal exemption and standard deduction will do that. The value of the child from a tax standpoint is in the EITC and the CTC.

It would be a very good idea to double-check the facts carefully before proceeding with the girl's return.

Wait....who provided more than 1/2 of the support for the child. How much of her income was used for her support? Does she pay his parents rent or other household expenses? Who paid her medical for herself and the child? If his parents did then she cannot take the child as her dependent.
A support worksheet needs to be done which includes each member of the household. And she cannot file HOH either because his parents most likely have more income than she does.

[dtlee]

Wait....who provided more than 1/2 of the support for the child. How much of her income was used for her support? Does she pay his parents rent or other household expenses? Who paid her medical for herself and the child? If his parents did then she cannot take the child as her dependent.
A support worksheet needs to be done which includes each member of the household. And she cannot file HOH either because his parents most likely have more income than she does.

The question of who provided the support only comes into play with Qualifying Relatives and no individual can be considered as a Qualifying Relative if they are eligible to be claimed as a Qualifying Child for any of the five benefits by another taxpayer.

Most support worksheets are designed to show that the taxpayer provided more than half of the support (pre-2005 rules). The only rule for a Qualifying Child is that the child did not provide more than half of his/her own support (someone desperately needs to teach this to the IRS examiners).

I agree that she would not have any kind of claim for Head of Household (not due to income specifically, but due to who provided the cost of maintaining the home the child lived in), but since she is a taxpayer by the IRS definition and she lived with the child as long as the child has been alive, there is definitely no one who can use the Qualifying Relative support rules (i.e., "who provided more than 1/2 of the support for the child") to use the child as a Qualifying Relative.

[nwtaxlady]

here are the known facts

The teen Mom and baby spent 51% of time at boyfriends parents house both are high school students (both graduated in June). The parents of the boyfriend are claiming their teen son only and don't want to claim the baby. Teen Mom does not qualify as a dependent for boyfriends parents because she's not related and did Not live there all year long. The parents of the teen Mom are not claiming her or baby cuz they didn't live with them over half of the year. And as far as the medical insurance, teen Mom sign up for the State health plan for low income people for her and baby. So this is what I am looking at and correct me if I am wrong.

File the Mom as single claiming herself and baby and NO EITC.

[tpnl]

Her Parents

I know it was previously stated that she did not live with her parents, however, how do her parents feel about this? Is the teen mom just saying she didn't live with her parents more than 50% of the time, or is it a fact? I would be cautious about this return. Did her parents provide medical insurance or support in any way? Maybe this was a temporary absence, students have different rules than non students when it comes to not living in the home.

[dtlee]

Mostly, I agree.

The teen Mom and baby spent 51% of time at boyfriends parents house both are high school students (both graduated in June).

Fine, so far. I agree.

The parents of the boyfriend are claiming their teen son only and don't want to claim the baby.

I assume they are eligible to claim the son. However, if the Teen Mom is claiming the baby as her Qualifying Child, the parents of the boyfriend cannot, but I think that is what you were trying to say. I agree.

Teen Mom does not qualify as a dependent for boyfriends parents because she's not related and did Not live there all year long.

Even if she were a dependent, that would only prevent her from having a Qualifying Child Dependent but she could have a Qualifying Child for other tax purposes (assuming she is otherwise eligible for those also) like the EITC. However, you were only discussing her status as a dependent, so I agree.

The parents of the teen Mom are not claiming her or baby cuz they didn't live with them over half of the year.

Okay, but I would say it differently. They cannot claim the daughter as a Qualifying Child because she did not live with them over half of the year and I assume they are not claiming the Teen Mom as a Qualifying Relative because they did not provide more than half of the daughter's support. Similar with the baby. Not sure I have enough information to agree or disagree. Assuming there was insufficient support from the parents of the Teen Mom to claim either as Qualifying Relatives, I agree. (This last point becomes quite complicated since I believe that the baby would still be Teen Mom's Qualifying Child and since Teen Mom is a taxpayer, the baby would thus ineligible to be anyone's Qualifying Child)

And as far as the medical insurance, teen Mom sign up for the State health plan for low income people for her and baby.

And this is not considered support from the child, but from someone else, so it does not negate the potential status as a Qualifying Child. Okay. Good info.

So this is what I am looking at and correct me if I am wrong.

File the Mom as single claiming herself and baby and NO EITC.

I agree with Roland. There was nothing you documented to indicate that either the baby is not a Qualifying Child for the Teen Mom nor that the Teen Mom is somehow ineligible for the EITC.

[dtlee]

I know it was previously stated that she did not live with her parents, however, how do her parents feel about this? Is the teen mom just saying she didn't live with her parents more than 50% of the time, or is it a fact? I would be cautious about this return. Did her parents provide medical insurance or support in any way? Maybe this was a temporary absence, students have different rules than non students when it comes to not living in the home.

This is a key point, by the way. Spending more than 50% of the time at a boyfriends house may not equate to living there depending on what "spending time" means. I assumed from this discussion that the teenager moved out of her parents home at some point, but that has been implied rather than clearly stated. In 2014, I spent more than 50% of my time at my job, but that did not change where I lived.

[DonB]

I agree with Roland. There was nothing you documented to indicate that either the baby is not a Qualifying Child for the Teen Mom nor that the Teen Mom is somehow ineligible for the EITC.

Agree with this. Please note that teen mom cannot be a qualifying relative of anyone because she fails the gross income test.

[nwtaxlady]

DonB she was a FT student...that is why I ask the ?

She was a full time student Jan-June and graduated from High School doesn't that waive the gross income test?
It's just not the "normal" situation we come across everyday. That's why I ask the question.

[dtlee]

She was a full time student Jan-June and graduated from High School doesn't that waive the gross income test?
It's just not the "normal" situation we come across everyday. That's why I ask the question.

First, DonB is right, the Gross Income Test is failed as a Qualifying Relative. I missed that.

Let's try to clarify this:

Qualifying Child: There is no Gross Income Test. There is an Age Test of under age 19 or under age 24 and a full-time student.
Qualifying Relative: There is a Gross Income Test and the age of the individual does not matter.

For both of the above, total and permanent disability would waive this particular test.

I gave a class this year indicating that I believe that current families really do not fit into any pattern such that there is a "normal" rule.

[dan doshan]

The teen Mom and baby spent 51% of time at boyfriends parents house both are high school students (both graduated in June). The parents of the boyfriend are claiming their teen son only and don't want to claim the baby. Teen Mom does not qualify as a dependent for boyfriends parents because she's not related and did Not live there all year long. The parents of the teen Mom are not claiming her or baby cuz they didn't live with them over half of the year. And as far as the medical insurance, teen Mom sign up for the State health plan for low income people for her and baby. So this is what I am looking at and correct me if I am wrong.

File the Mom as single claiming herself and baby and NO EITC.

Curious as to the 51%. Did she spend the balance of the time with her parents. If so, could be possible the time she spent at her boyfriends parents could be considered a temporary absence, from her parents home, while she was attending school.

[taxea]

I am still asking who provided the support for the child? are his parents are related to this child? If they provided more support than the mother did they may have a qualifying dependent. If they qualify to take the child then she doesn't.