How much does a student have to make
before he or she has to file an income tax return?
I'm single, live alone, and have no dependents. Can I file as
"
head of household
"
My
wife and I have been separated since May
. She has one child (a grandchild) living with her. Can we both file as single?
If
two single people (never married) have a child
and have always lived together providing equal support for that child, can they both claim "head of household" status?
I am divorced and pay child support.
My children live with their mother and she claims them on her tax returns.
Can I claim "head of household" status?
Can a person claim a girlfriend as a wife
if they have a child, or do they have to be married?
Is there an
age limit on claiming children
as dependents?
How do you claim a child if
you agree with your ex-spouse to claim him six months and he claims him the other six months
of the year?
My seven-year-old son lived in my household for seven months of the year, and I provided all of his support. I paid child support to his other parent for the other five months.
Can I claim my son as a dependent and for a child tax credit without Form 8332
?
I have
a court order that says I have the tax exemption for my minor child
until further order of the court. Can I just send a copy of the court order with my prepared taxes or do I have to have a waiver signed by the other parent?
My divorce decree states my ex-husband is allowed to claim one of our two children who live with me.
He is very behind in child support. Can I claim both children
?
My wife and I are filing separate returns. We have
one child and want to know if we can both claim him on our separate returns
?
If you pay child support,
are you allowed to deduct anything on your taxes or claim the child as an exemption
?
My
child lives at home but is filing her own tax return this year
. Can I still claim her as a dependent when I file?
What constitutes
proper proof of more than 50% of support
?
My
son was born on December 31st
. Can I claim him as a dependent? If so, will he also qualify me for the Child Tax Credit?
My daughter was born at the end of the year. We are still waiting for a social security number.
Can I send in my return and later supply the social security number for her
?
If you have
a child who works, but is still in high school
, can the parents claim him or her as a dependent, or does the student file his or her own taxes?
My child is 21 and goes to college part-time. Can I claim her as a dependent, or
does she have to be a full-time student before I can claim her
?
Q:
I am a student attending college and working part-time. Do I have to file a tax return?
A:
If you can be claimed as a dependent on another person's return, single and under age 65, you must file a return if any of the following circumstances apply:
- Your unearned income was more than $700. Unearned income includes taxable interest, dividends, capital gains, and trust distributions. If you had an investment loss, your unearned income could be a negative amount.
- Your earned income was more than $4,400. Earned income includes wages, tips, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, and salaries.
- Your total income was more than the larger of $700 or your earned income (up to $4,150) plus $250.
If you file Form 1040EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers With No Dependents, your total income is the same as your adjusted gross income.
If you're 65 or older, or married, refer to the instructions in your tax package or IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents, or Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
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Q:
How much does a student have to make before he or she has to file an income tax return?
A:
If you're an unmarried dependent, you must file a tax return if you have earned income of more than a certain amount, which varies each year.
Even if you don't have to file, you should file a federal income tax return to get money back if any of the following apply:
- You had income tax withheld from your pay
- You qualify for the earned income credit
- You qualify for the additional child tax credit
Refer to IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, for an explanation of the five exemption tests and filing requirement rules.
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Q:
I'm single, live alone and have no dependents. Can I file as "head of household"
A:
No. To use this filing status, you must have paid over half the cost of keeping up a home for you and a child or other qualifying person for over half the year.
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Q:
My wife and I have been separated since May. She has one child (a grandchild) living with her. Can we both file as "single"
A:
You and your wife can file either as married filing jointly, or married filing separately. Your wife might qualify as head of household since the grandchild may be a qualifying person for that status. If she does, you would have to file as married filing separately. Refer to IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.
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Q:
If two single people (never married) have a child and have always lived together providing equal support for that child, can they both claim "head of household" status?
A:
Only the person who paid more that half the cost of keeping up a home for the year would qualify for the head of household filing status. If both people paid exactly the same amount, neither would qualify for the head of household filing status
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Q:
I am divorced and pay child support. My children live with their mother and she claims them on her tax returns. Can I claim "head of household"
A:
You can only file as head of household if you meet all of the following requirements:
- You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year
- You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year
- A qualifying person must live with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences such as school)
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Q:
Can a person claim a girlfriend as a wife if they have a child, or do they have to be married?
A:
You are considered married if you are living together in a common law marriage that is recognized in the state where you now live, or in the state where the common law marriage began. If you are considered married, then you may file as married filing jointly. If you are not considered married, then you would have to file as single or head of household.
In order to claim your girlfriend as a dependent:
- Your relationship must not be in violation of local law
- Your girlfriend must have lived with you for the entire year
- The following five dependency exemption tests must be met:
- Member of household or relationship test
- Citizenship test
- Joint return test
- Gross income test
- Support test
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Q:
Is there an age limit on claiming children as dependents?
A:
Age will not prevent you from claiming your children as dependents. As long as your child meets the following five dependency exemption tests, you may claim him or her.
Return to index . . .
Q:
How do you claim a child if you agree with your ex-spouse to claim him six months, and your ex claims him the other six months of the year?
A:
The dependency exemption cannot be split. The parents need to decide who will claim the child. The parent relinquishing the dependent should sign a Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, provide it to the claiming parent, and thus authorize him or her to claim the exemption. The claiming parent would then need to attach the Form 8332 to his or her tax return. Please be aware that if you relinquish the exemption, you are also relinquishing eligibility for the Child Tax Credit.
In the absence of a Form 8332, the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents usually gives the dependency exemption to the custodial parent (the parent who has custody for the larger part of the year). Under the special rule, the parent who had custody of the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial parent) is generally treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met.
Return to index . . .
Q:
My seven-year-old son lived in my household for seven months of the year, and I provided all of his support. I paid child support to his other parent for the other five months. Can I claim my son as a dependent and for a child tax credit, without Form 8332?
A:
There is a special rule for children of divorced or separated parents, which usually gives the dependency exemption to the custodial parent. The custodial parent is defined as the parent who has custody of the child for the greater part of the year. If you can claim your son as a dependent and he is under age 17 at the end of the tax year and a citizen or resident of the United States, you may be able to claim the Child Tax Credit.
Under the special rule, the parent who had custody of the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial parent) is generally treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met.
Return to index . . .
Q:
I have a court order that says I have the tax exemption for my minor child until further order of the court. Can I just send a copy of the court order with my prepared taxes, or do I have to have a waiver signed by the other parent?
A:
If your divorce decree or separation agreement went into effect after 1984 and it states you can claim the child as your dependent without regards to any condition (such as payment of support), you can attach a copy of the following pages from the decree or agreement instead of Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents:
- Cover page (write other parents social security number on this page)
- The page that states you can claim the child as a dependent
- Signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement
If the court order that you're referring to is not a divorce decree or separation agreement and is not a modification to an existing divorce decree or separation agreement, then Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, must be attached to your tax return.
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Q:
My divorce decree states my ex-husband is allowed to claim one of our two children who live with me. He is very behind in child support. Can I claim both children?
A:
The answer depends on the year of the divorce decree and its exact wording:
- If the divorce decree state's that your spouse must pay child support to claim the child as a dependent and if the child lived with you for more than half the year, then you can claim the child as a dependent on you return
- If the divorce decree was executed after 1984 and it unconditionally entitles your spouse to the exemption, then you spouse gets to claim the child as a dependent
- If the divorce decree that entitles the noncustodial parent to the exemption was executed prior to 1985 (and not modified) and the noncustodial parent paid at least $600 of child support, then the noncustodial parent gets to claim the child as a dependent.
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Q:
My wife and I are filing separate returns. We have one child and want to know if we can both claim him on our separate returns?
A:
You can claim a dependency exemption only on one return, and only if you are the person who meets the following five tests:
- Member of household or relationship test
- Citizenship test
- Joint return test
- Gross income test
- Support test
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Q:
If you pay child support, are you allowed to deduct anything on your taxes, or claim the child as an exemption?
A:
Nothing can be deducted for the child support payments. Child support payments are neither deductible by the payer, nor taxable income to the payee. You may qualify to claim the child as a dependent. There is a special rule for children of divorced or separated parents, which usually gives the dependency exemption to the custodial parent. Under the special rule, the parent who had custody of the child for the greater part of the year (the custodial parent) is generally treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met.
If the parents have never been married, the special rule does not apply. In order to claim an exemption for your dependent child without having been married, you must meet the following five tests:
- Member of household or relationship test
- Citizenship test
- Joint return test
- Gross income test
- Support test
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Q:
My child lives at home, but is filing her own tax return this year. Can I still claim her when I file?
A:
If dependents are filing their own tax return, and if they're eligible to be claimed as a dependent on their parent's (or someone else's) return, they can't claim their own personal exemptions on the tax returns they file. In this case, your daughter should check the box on her return that someone else can claim her as a dependent.
If you're filing your own tax return, and no one else is eligible to claim you as a dependent, then you'd claim your personal exemption on the tax return you file and wouldn't be listed as a dependent on anyone else's return.
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Q:
What constitutes proper proof of more than 50% of support?
A:
You must provide more than half of a person's total support during the calendar year to meet the support test. You determine this by comparing what you contributed with the entire amount of support the person received from all sources. There is a worksheet in IRS Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, that identifies the elements of support and can assist you in making this determination. Please refer to IRS Publication 552, Record Keeping for Individuals, in regard to what constitutes proof.
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Q:
My son was born on December 31st. Can I claim him as a dependent? If so, will he also qualify me for the Child Tax Credit?
A:
If your child was born alive during the year, and the exemption tests are met, you can take the full exemption. You would be entitled to a Child Tax Credit for each of your children for whom you can claim an exemption.
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Q:
My daughter was born at the end of the year. We are still waiting for a social security number. Can I send in my return and later supply the social security number for her?
A:
If you file your return claiming your daughter as a dependent and do not provide her social security number on the return, the dependent exemption will be disallowed. You could file your income tax return without claiming your daughter as a dependent. After you receive her social security number, you could then amend your return on Form 1040X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You have three years from the later of the due date of the return or from the date the return was filed to amend the return.
The other option is to file a Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This would give you an additional four months to file your return. By then, you should have your daughter's social security number.
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Q:
If you have a child who works, but is still in high school, can the parents claim him or her as a dependent, or does the student file his or her own taxes?
A:
You can claim your child as a dependent as long as you meet the five dependency exemption tests and your child does not claim his personal exemption. A full time student under the age of 24 at the end of the year isn't subject to the gross income test. The child should file his own tax return, but should not claim his personal exemption.
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Q:
My child is 21 and goes to college part-time. Can I claim her as a dependent, or does she have to be a full-time student before I can claim her?
A:
Your child is over the age of 19 and not a full-time student. Therefore, she is subject to the gross income test. If she meets the gross income test and the following five tests, you may claim the dependency exemptions for her:
- Member of household or relationship test
- Citizenship test
- Joint return test
- Gross income test
- Support test
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