MichaelG Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 My questions is, and the answer is most likely no, but I have to ask because, I have never had this asked of me yet. Client a single person, with live in girlfriend, and two children. Girlfriend does not work, children are not supported by biological father. No one else claims these children on a tax return. Client supports all of them. Can they be his dependents? Quote
MichaelG Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 That is what I thought. Thank you for your prompt reply. Quote
mcb39 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 I disagree....under the rules of Qualifying Relative it states that a person is not considered to be the qualifying child of another taxpayer if that other taxpayer is not required to file a tax return. In Quickfinders, Page 4-5, Step 4 states that any other person who lived with the taxpayer all year as a member of the taxpayer's household is a qualifying relative. I believe that he can take all three of them as dependents if they lived with him and he supported them; and they meet all of the other rules of dependency. Quote
MichaelG Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 That is where I find it to be a touchy item, the word Related. Is that term literal? They do meet all the other criteria other than being related to him. Quote
Pacun Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 "Related" doesn't mean "blood related". He needs to file as single and claim all 3 dependents if they lived in the same household the whole year and he provided more than 50% of the support. Quote
MichaelG Posted January 13, 2012 Author Report Posted January 13, 2012 Thank you. One last item related to this. The program may suggest they (Children) qualify for EIC. In this particular case he can only claim them for exemptions only, and not for EIC purposes correct? 1 Quote
Pacun Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 Correct. Remember that the relationship to the filer is "other". 1 Quote
mcb39 Posted January 13, 2012 Report Posted January 13, 2012 Aren't you glad that you asked? The children do not qualify him for EIC unless he marries the mother. 1 Quote
schirallicpa Posted January 15, 2012 Report Posted January 15, 2012 I taught a tax class this past fall, and dependents questions became our weekly thing. It was great. It is so confusing at first, but after you hammer through it 25 or 30 times, it comes together. My students went from hating dependents, to wanting some of their own! Pub 17 gives a lot of examples to review. Yes - they are all dependents. No - he does not qualify for EIC. My students will now tell you that she should get a part time job and scrape in a couple bucks, so she can get a ridiculous EIC refund! Quote
jainen Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 >>My students will now tell you that she should get a part time job and scrape in a couple bucks, so she can get a ridiculous EIC refund!<< Maybe you'd better hammer it through another 30 times, until they understand that a dependent can not get EIC. Also, we don't know if she is old enough to claim EIC. Most important, since tax benefits should never drive financial decisions that are otherwise untenable, we don't know if the child is old enough to avoid childcare costs exceeding income from the new job. 1 Quote
Pacun Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 She will not be a dependent of his as soon as she earns $3,700. Quote
Jack from Ohio Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 She will not be a dependent of his as soon as she earns $3,700. But she will not be providing a home for her child, so no EIC either. Quote
Pacun Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 But she will not be providing a home for her child, so no EIC either. Wrong. Quote
Pacun Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Jack, As long as she is breathing in the same room with the children, for more than 6 months, she will qualify for single filing status and EIC, if she otherwise qualifies. Quote
schirallicpa Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 She will not be a dependent of his as soon as she earns $3,700. thank you. Quote
schirallicpa Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Jack, As long as she is breathing in the same room with the children, for more than 6 months, she will qualify for single filing status and EIC, if she otherwise qualifies. thank you. Quote
taxtrio Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Be careful of your state laws, they can effect the dependency. Here in Michigan there is a very old law on the books that says it is illegal for a man and a woman to "co-habitate" without the benefit of marriage.... Which possibly makes their relationship illegal in Michigan. The IRS in our district says you can't claim a deduction for anything (or anyone) that is illegal in Michigan. In Michigan the answer would be he could claim the children as a "qualifying relative" but cannot claim the girl friend. taxtrio Quote
Jack from Ohio Posted January 16, 2012 Report Posted January 16, 2012 Jack, As long as she is breathing in the same room with the children, for more than 6 months, she will qualify for single filing status and EIC, if she otherwise qualifies. Disagree! How much would she have to earn to show that she provides more than 50% of her living expenses as well as her children? Any less than that and she is STILL his dependent as "qualifying relative" and therefore CANNOT receive EIC. Quote
Pacun Posted January 17, 2012 Report Posted January 17, 2012 Disagree! How much would she have to earn to show that she provides more than 50% of her living expenses as well as her children? Any less than that and she is STILL his dependent as "qualifying relative" and therefore CANNOT receive EIC. As soon as she makes more than $3,700, she is NOT the qualifying relative OF ANYONE. AND in Michigan (and maybe in other states), if she makes, let's say, $2,700, she CANNOT be the qualifying relative of her boyfriend... as a result, she could qualify for EIC, regardless who supported the children as long as the children didn't provide more than 50% of their own support. Quote
Gloria Posted January 19, 2012 Report Posted January 19, 2012 For a qualifying child she does not have to provide 50% of the support - see below: Support — the person did not provide more than half of his or her own support during the year. The new rules state that the qualifying child must not provide more than half of his or her own support. This is different from the old rules. Under the old rules, the taxpayer had to provide over half the support for the child. The change makes it easier for families relying on public assistance, charity, and gifts from family members to claim a dependent. Quote
ljwalters Posted January 20, 2012 Report Posted January 20, 2012 After the $3,700 She can no longer be a dependent. As for the children, the support test for dependents does not apply for purposes of the EIC. Linda Quote
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