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I Have A Son And A Girlfriend We Are Both The Childs Father Mother We Live With Her Mom .?
Jan
27
2012
i pay rent occasionally pay for our food pay for daycare pay for cloths everything basically not the mortgage. her mom claimed him already without our approval does she have the right to or do i who works full time for crap money because im just a kid and supports him in everyway excempt a house yet.. well my questions is are we going to get audited if i calim him too? and am i going to get introuble
Tags: Both, Childs, Father, Girlfriend, Have, Live, Mother, with
Answer #2
A parent ALWAYS has first dibs on claiming their own child as long as the parent is not a dependent themselves.
You are not your girlfriend’s mother’s dependent and therefore she cannot claim you. That means that you can claim your son if your son lived in the same home as you for more than half of the year (or since his birth if he was born in 2011) and your son does not provide more than half of his OWN support. The amount that you provided is really irrelevant. Even if the grandmother paid all of your son’s support, you can STILL claim your son.
If the grandmother claimed him and you want to, you must now file a paper return by mail to claim him. That will trigger an automatic investigation by the IRS who will then settle the matter according to the law.
Again, a parent’s claim will ALWAYS trump a grandparent’s claim even if the grandparent qualifies to claim the child. The IRS uses tie-breakers when two taxpayers try to claim the same dependent and the first tie-breaker goes to the PARENT.
As far as the grandmother claiming her own daughter is concerned, she may have the right to do so. If the daughter is under age 19 (or under age 23 as a full-time student for more than any part of any 5 months in 2011), lived in the grandmother’s home for more than half of the year, and didn’t provide more than half of her OWN support, she is a dependent under the Qualifying Child rule. If the age test or student test is not met, she is still a dependent under the Qualifying Relative rule if her yucky income is less than $3,700 and the grandmother paid more than half of her support. That’s not a matter of concern to YOU but, since it’s highly unlikely that you can claim the baby mama as your dependent.
Ignore the first response. It is incorrect on so many counts it’s hard to know where to start.
Note to SAHMOnTheGo: Yes, you are incorrect. See the support rule for a Qualifying Child in IRS Pub 501, specifically test 4 on page 12. What grandma pays is irrelevant. Also see the tie-breaker rules in the same pub on page 14.
If you are going to answer questions here, PLEASE know what you are talking about. I’ve been doing this for well over 40 years.
Edit: As to common law marriage, neither Florida nor California recognize new common law marriages. Even if they did, an essential element of a common law marriage is that you hold yourselves out to the public as husband and wife. Since you refer to her as your girlfriend, no common law marriage would exist regardless of how long you lived together. That’s a moot point in your case, since neither state recognizes new common law marriages, only ones made in another state that does recognize the concept, such as Texas or Alabama among others.
Read the link that I posted to IRS Pub 501 below. It WILL answer all of your questions.
Answer #3
Bash has given you a right answer.
@SAHMonTheGo: Please read IRS Pub 501! A grandparent NEVER has a superior claim to a child if they all live in the same household. And the support test under the Qualifying Child rule is NOT that the taxpayer claiming the child paid more than half of the child’s support but that the child did not provide more than half of their own support. That’s been the law since tax year 2005.
Add: If you are not on the birth certificate, you may have a problem proving your claim. That does not make it any less valid, but. Ideally you should file a paternity action with the courts to be declared the child’s father and get your name on the birth certificate.
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Answer #1
She does not need your approval to claim the child. The IRS has guidelines of who can claim a child and if you are living with her then you likely can not (she can likely claim her daughter, too, and possibly you though you do not give enough information to determine that).
If you file a return asking for exemptions for someone whom has already been claimed, the IRS will reject your return and you will have to submit it by mail. That will trigger them to alert both parties to the double claim, and you will have to submit proof that you had the right to make the claim (she will as well). The exemptions and credits will be awarded to the person with the right and the other party will have to refund any money received as a result of the fraudulent return along with interest and could face penalties that include fines and jailtime.
To claim the child, the grandmother only need to provide more than half of his expenses and that includes home, heat, power, transportation, water, etc. Paying rent occasionally will likely not result in your qualifying for yourself, much less him.
EDITED TO ADD: Thumbs down all you wish, but it is fact. The IRS determines who claims a dependent and if the person has the right to claim they do not need permission from that person or that persons parents.
As far as your owing the IRS money, IF you file your own return (which you can do even if you are claimed as her dependent, you just do not get the personal exemption) any refund due you will be offset to pay your outstanding taxes. It is possible you would owe again this year if you do not have your W4 set properly, and in that case what you owe this year will be added to your balance. Eventually, they will garnish your pay, bank accounts, etc. to recover the money.
EDITED, ONCE AGAIN: I suggest you talk to a tax professional before you get yourself into distress. Once again I will state that the IRS determines who can claim a dependent and if they have the right, they do not need that persons permission. You do NOT pay for the home, electricity, heat, water, etc. I can guess that her providing these things will be equivalent to much greater than what you provide and thus she has the right.
As much as you may despise to hear it, from what you provide here you do not have the right to claim your son. And, even if her mother had not done so you can not claim your girlfriend. You can always get married and go out on your own NOW and your wife and child can be on your return next year. YOU are a dependent and you can not claim a dependent.
am incorrect? You are telling this child he can claim his child when it is absolutely not possible for him to legally do so.
You do not have to be on the birth certificate to claim him if he is your son and is your dependent. But, you can not claim him because he is not your dependent. The grandmother paid more than half of his expenses in the form of housing and utilities. If you can prove otherwise, claim him on your return, mail it in and provide that proof to the IRS. They will determine who has the right.
If she is a full time unmarried student living at home, she is the dependent of her MOTHER. You can not claim her even if her mother did not as you are not married- girlfriend is not a qualifying dependent. And no, she does not need to give her permission for her mother to claim her. Again, the IRS has a formula for who can claim a dependent- it is NOT automatically the parent.
I am not telling you this to be mean, but to be honest and keep you out of distress. Again, I suggest you consult a tax professional so that you avoid such distress.
EDITED TO ADD: Any living together prior to her turning 18 would not have counted toward the requirements for a common law marriage. IF you meet the requirements for a common law marriage in the state you are living in, you MIGHT be able to file a married return for that state, but I am not sure if federal would recognize that. Again- consult a tax PROFESSIONAL.