Disabled Son

[Snaggletooth]

Single mother has 22-year old son. Son is literally moronic but not inherently bad, and is treated for mental illness. In the past rehabilitation center has furnished letter for IRS to signify that the son is chronically mentally deficient. Son has worked sparingly at jobs for the rehab center. Trash pickup, washing cars, etc. On the basis of this letter, the IRS has allowed single mother to claim EIC. Son has been getting W-2 for about $1800.
I see no problem in mother claiming dependent and EIC, even though mother earns some $16,000 annually in a poverty situation. Mother hasn't even had a car. I hope I have painted the picture for this situation.

Mother rents a small structure near a sawmill. In 2006, sawmill owner offered the son a job pulling lumber. For those of you who don't know what "pulling lumber" entails: a conveyor belt carries the lumber away from the saw, and this person pulls the lumber off the conveyor and stacks it onto a skid. The perfect job for someone in son's condition. In 2006 the son receives a W-2 for $6,000 from the sawmill and $1800 from the state-sponsored rehab program. Total income less than $8000.

Son promises to pay mother $100/mo to help with support, and as far as I know, pays it. The rest of his paycheck goes for cigarettes and toys at Wal-Mart, mostly for 7- and 8- year old children. A casual conversation with the son reveals his zeal for his collection of toys for small children. Tonka trucks, GI Joe, etc.

I am not only the tax preparer, but the single mother and her son are close friends of the family, and the situation as I have described it is known to be true. I am inclined to deny her EIC based on no other factor than his $7800 income.

Question: Can mother claim son as a dependent, as well as EIC??

[jainen]

no support test for EIC

I would feel more comfortable about it if the letter were signed by a genuine doctor, but I don't see anything wrong with claiming EIC. The son is a qualifying child (disabled at any age) and there is no support test for EIC.

[Gretel]

I agree. Son is permanently disabled and it should not be difficult to have a doctor attest to that.

[Snaggletooth]

Thanks

Thanks to Jainen and Gabriele. I am thankful to have any comments. Notice how when we are in the thick of the season the posts are very abundant, fewer comments, and quicker to fall down to the bottom of the page.

I'm the same way. I've got plenty of time to ask questions that I need, but not enough time to be helpful to others. Not intentional -- I think we're all in that position right now.

[Black Bart]

Don't see why not

...paycheck goes for cigarettes and toys at Wal-Mart....

...Can mother claim son as a dependent, as well as EIC?

Like jainen said -- EIC's okay.

As to support, I like the dependent's income further down (4K or less), but have claimed it at eight although it's bit high for around here (I guess those figures would vary by region). I haven't done one of those "support worksheets" in years, but as I recall, I used to just take a kid's gross, subtract anything in a savings account and any substantial items (motorcycle, etc.) he'd bought and what was left was his contribution to "support."

But...does "entertainment" (guess that's what you'd call toys 'n' smokes) count as "support"? I don't remember about that.

[Snaggletooth]

EIC yes, Dependent no

That's the way it turned out, folks. Return was e-filed this morning.

When kid makes $6K or more, I start resisting the parents' ability to claim him.
Most kids wheeze away their paychecks and their parents continue to pay out
the "real" support - room, board, insurance, clothing, etc.

My argument (and I think it is supported by IRS pubs and audit manuals) is that
parents must still furnish 51% of support, regardless of how kids waste their
money. A kid who makes $8000 and cannot pay more than 49% of his support
means that his total support must be at least $16,000 for his parents to continue
to claim him.

This doesn't make me the most popular kid on the block. Most parents think
claiming their child is an unalienable right. Once I had a Momma shake her finger
at me and told me if I had to give birth to a child I wouldn't disallow ANY kid!!

I'll not argue if the kid makes up to $6K, but get a little tougher after that.
Unless this kid is going to Georgia Tech and parents are paying the entire tab,
it's hard to let the parents claim the kid per the above argument.