My son's girlfriend who's 19 was recently kicked out of her home by her mother. She works as a manager for a local fast food and her mother is determined to make this girl's life miserable. The girl gives her mother her pay checks to pay bills, rent and food. I told son's girlfriend that since mother kicked her out she does NOT have to support her mother any longer. However, the mother is extremely abusive and has made quite a spetacal out of herself in front of the girl's co-workers so she continues to support her mom sending her pay checks to the woman.
I made a suggestion that she either get a checking account or start giving her mother money using money orders and keeping receipts in an envelope. Then at tax season, she could possibly count her mother as a "dependent"?
Is this possible? Does anyone know if this can be done or not? Otherwise it's simply not fair. She's living in 3 different places because she can't afford a home of her own.
Thanks for any suggestions!
2006-09-01 04:47:20 · 6 answers · asked by BevD 4 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Yes I've seen first hand what her mom's capable of, so the girl's not using that as an excuse. My son witnessed her mom coming into her place of business and yelling and actually throwing things towards the girl because there wasn't "enough money" one week and thought for sure she was keeping money from her mother.
2006-09-01 05:05:49 · update #1
Also, the mother does not work. Not sure if it's because she "can't" or just won't because she knows her daughter will support her. I don't think the girl would file a restraining order because, well, the woman's still her mom and she still loves her mom.
Thank you all for your comment's, it's really most appreciated. I was hoping to help the girl in a way to get her to understand her rights concerning her own hard working money
2006-09-01 05:46:33 · update #2
I am going to avoid any emotional issues that this girl may be suffering from and stick to strictly your tax questions. First of all, a parent does not have to live with the child in order to be a dependent. Therefore, as long as we can prove that the mother does not provide more than 50% of her own support, and the daughter does, then she would qualify as a dependent on the daughter's return. Since the daughter doesn't live with the mother, and vice versa, I would file her as single with a dependent. Using the information given, that would be her best advice. As far as the money orders go, why can't the daughter just pay the utility bill or rent bill for her mom instead of just giving her cash? That would ensure the money is going for its intended purpose and gives the daughter a receipt proving support. Good luck!
2006-09-01 17:24:16 · answer #1 · answered by Marian 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, there's a whole lot of ickiness going on here! I don't know the answer to the dependent question, but if she could and indeed did go that route, the mother would have to answer "Yes" on her own tax return to the question "Is someone else claiming you as a dependent on their tax return?" -- which would require the daughter to actually let her mother know that she's claiming her as a dependent, which from the sounds of your post I would guess would make the mother go even more ballistic on the daughter than she already has.
I think that this scenario you are asking about is a bandaid, and a poor one at that, for the problem, and wouldn't really solve the problem. The problem is the dysfunctional, warped relationship between mother and daughter. If I were this 19-yr-old girl, I would either get another job (and not let the mom know where that is) or get a restraining order to prevent her from coming to my current place of employment. (Personally, I'd go for the new job and would just drop the mother altogether; who needs that!) And I wouldn't give the mom one more dime! If the 19-yr-old keeps all her money for herself (which she should, since she's the one who's earned it), then perhaps she could find a place to live.
Good luck to you and your son's girlfriend!
2006-09-01 12:40:55 · answer #2 · answered by I ♥ AUG 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are more important issues here than taxes. I think she should cut off all contact with her mother and stop giving her any more money. She should consider filing in court for a restraining order, since the mother is physically threatening her. The mother is clearly a destructive influence and not someone she needs in her life. I don't think it's at all "commendable" to tolerate that kind of abuse.
2006-09-01 12:36:19 · answer #3 · answered by rainfingers 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, she can probably deduct her mother as a dependent, and, more importantly she can declare herself 'head of household' for tax purposes. See a tax adviser.
I concur with your advice; she should open her own checking account. If she wishes to provide part of her income to her mother, however abusive, that is commendable.
2006-09-01 11:55:20 · answer #4 · answered by Michael K 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No the mother can not be considered a dependent unless the mother was severly handycaped and the daughter is the head of household
2006-09-01 11:55:19 · answer #5 · answered by aussie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok i see WoW 1st off, ask your self did you see with your own eye what is going on there with here mom, and if so question is she using the fact that she dont get along with here mom to cover up that shes keeping the money for her self
2006-09-01 11:57:54 · answer #6 · answered by Heart 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋