PleaseHelp! Child EIC tax Question!
Hello! I have a question about my fiance claiming our(his) daughter on his tax return. We live in Michigan. He claimed her last year because his ex was not eligible I guess. She has 3 kids total from 3 different dads, ours being her youngest. She does not work and is the custodial parent of our daughter and we pay child support. A few weeks ago she told my fiance that she was going to claim our daughter and that he couldn't. Now she is saying she wants him to claim her and give her 1/2 of the EIC. I've read a few things saying that she needs to sign something in order for him to claim?? But if she CAN'T claim her for the EIC, then do we still need permission? If we can go ahead and claim her without permission I don't see why we should give her any of it (not like our daughter will see a dime of it from her anyway). But if we NEED her consent, I guess splitting it may be our only option.
Does anyone know the rules in this situation? Or at least know who we could contact to get these answers??
Thank you so much!
Usually, the parent with
Usually, the parent with Primary Physical Custody is the parent allowed to claim the child. If Court order says she is the primary , then she gets to claim her. If your fiance wants to claim her, the Primary must sign a Form 8332. The IRS website has information about this form and the qualifying items. Good luck!
Usually the parent with
Usually the parent with primary physical custody gets to file. Before my DH got sole custody, he had joint and in the court order it said they had to alternate years. Check the court order.
"If I turn into another, Dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me" -Incubus
If I understand correctly,
If I understand correctly, this may answer your question. This is from the IRS website.
Divorced or separated parents. A noncustodial parent claiming an exemption for a child can no longer attach certain pages from a divorce decree or separation agreement instead of Form 8332 if the decree or agreement was executed after 2008. The noncustodial parent must attach Form 8332 or a similar statement signed by the custodial parent and whose only purpose is to release a claim to exemption. See page 21.
She is the primary parent,
She is the primary parent, but as far as I know (and i'm pretty sure) they have no specific arrangment for claiming my SD on taxes. BM WANTS my fiance to claim her becuase she can't get the EIC (either becuase she doesn't work or has 2 other kids, i'm not sure) and then wants him to split the money with her. I guess she had him do this last year but she never signed anything, he just claimed her and sent her half of the 1,000 he received. I'm just trying to figure out if we should still have her sign the 8332 or if we even need to split the money with her if she CAN'T claim her??
yes, she would still need to
yes, she would still need to sign the form. For a non-custodial parent to claim the child, it must be stated in the custody agreement AND now the Form has to be signed releasing her claim. Or, if not stated in the custody agreement the custodial parent can still release the claim to the non custodial parent by executing Form 8332. The primary parent (BM) is the one that meets the criteria for claiming the child as a dependent. On the other hand, if she doesn't sign the form, it would only be an issue if you were audited and the IRS discovered that the child does not live with you. If that were the case, it could be resolved by the BM stating that she agreed to allow BF to claim the child. BUT, do you trust that if you are audited 5 years down the road BM isn't going to suddenly say, I never told him he could claim the child?
exactly... that's was my
exactly... that's was my main concern that if she could somehow turn around and screw us over if she doesn't sign the form. We are def. gonna have her sign it now.
However, if she signs it, are we 'obligated' to give her half of it or any certain portion of it? I know my fiance would give her half anyways most likely, just to keep the peace. But I wonder if like friend of the court or anyone would REQUIRE him to pay her a portion of it?
Thanks!
No ma'm. He is not
No ma'm. He is not obligated (under tax law) to give her anything. If she releases claim through Form 8332, it's his dependent and he can do what he wishes with any resulting refund. However, if she isn't happy with the HER monetary results of letting your BF claim the child, then I highly doubt she would release the child in subsequent years. Just keep that in mind. BTW, I am an accountant (but not a tax accountant) but I am familiar with tax law.
maybe you should get that in
maybe you should get that in writing? take it to an attorney or something, that way it is not so confusing every year. We have ours written up, but we have 50/50.. BM doesnt make that much money, so we claim SS every year, until she makes 30K, then they will alternate.
Great, thanks for your
Great, thanks for your advice everyone. I think we are going to have her go ahead and sign the 8332 and probably just give her half of it. We could really use the extra money but it's not worth all the problems that would surely follow if we kept it from her.