My husband and I have been separated since March of 2006; I will not have any dependents except for my son who is in college. (he is 22) Can I claim Single? I know head of household is an option, but the home I live in is owned by my soon-2-be-ex's mother, and we have an agreement that my rent is in lieu of child support. I do pay the water bill, the electric bill and phone bill, the utilities are in MIL name and the phone bills are in soon-2-be-ex's, so if I had to prove the fact I pay more than half of the income, I may have a hard time coming up with proof. (Being these bills have been being paid from a joint checking acct, but coming out of my child support that is deposited into that acct. and then what I have left over the soon-to-be-ex gives me the balance I have left from my child support. This has changed as of this month, as I have my own checking acct. now my child support will be deposited into MY acct. now, but the past 6 months of proof is the problem.)
2007-01-13 15:24:44 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
I also can claim 2 (14 & 17) of my children from my first marriage as they live with me full time and I support them except for the 400.00 I receive in child support, and the ex does get to claim them as his dependents, but has given me the permission to claim them for the EIC since he does not qualify for the EIC (I was shocked he gave me permission to claim them for EIC. We have never been as co-operative with each other as my 2nd husband & I have been… we just realize we make better friends than lovers.)
My soon-2-be-ex will be claiming married filing separately since we are not divorced as of yet, and I am giving allowing him to claim our son, since he has claimed 3 exemptions.
My income is only $6515.00, I do not qualify for the child tax credit, as my son is not younger than 17.
So is filing single an option for me, or should I go ahead with the head of household and hope I am not asked for proof of paying for more than half the household expenses.
2007-01-13 15:25:26 · update #1
The reason you are saying I do not qualify for hoh is...because I can not technically prove I pay more than half the support?
2007-01-13 15:34:57 · update #2
Would notorixed statement form MIL and s00n-2-be-ex qualify as proof? He is court ordered to pay medical support for our child, and I qualify for medical card back-up, and they accept statements from her as my landlord and she states what I pay. I do have checks signed by me, but they are from the joint acct.
2007-01-13 15:46:26 · update #3
People this HOH crap has GOT TO STOP!
IT IS EXTREMELY RARE TO FILE HOH!!!!!!!
YOU ARE NOT DIVORCED SO HOH IS NOT AN OPTION!
MARRIED FILING SEPERATE IS YOUR BEST CHOICE PERIOD END OF STORY!
2007-01-13 15:36:17 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your MIL is providing a rent-free and utility-free home. You likely buy the food and pay some monthly bills. I don't see how you can establish that you paid over half the household expenses, given your income.
Child support is not income to you, so you only have $6,000 or so to use toward the head of household expenses.
So, file MFJ and maybe get a refund. You only other option is MFS, and you'll only get your withholding back.
Statements from you MIL or spouse regarding whether you paid expenses would not be acceptable evidence of anything.
Did you say an ex-spouse is allowing you to claim EIC for children you live with? If you live with the children, it is you who determines who claims the children, and the ex-spouse has nothing to say about whether you get EIC or not.
2007-01-13 15:48:05 · answer #2 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nice and confoosing.
Sounds like your soon-2-b-x may be HOH.
You, my darling, are stuck. Since you are legally married on 12/31/06, you can be Married Filing joint or Married Filing Separately. You don't meet all the qualifications for HoH, and you certainly are not single.
I recommend (by carefully treading on tires floating on a half-frozen lake) to file jointly one last time and split the refund.
Other than that, you R stuck MFS. Sorry.
WealthBuilder
2007-01-13 15:30:31 · answer #3 · answered by WealthBuilder 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You have a complex situation, I would suggest going to a tax preparer.
My own personal experience and instinct would lead to answer this:
Do Married filing seperately, as your soon to be X is and get your divorce finalized as soon as possible. You have no proof of anything to do Head of Household and you are not single (yet).
2007-01-13 15:40:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe you should file married/separeted-head of household since your income (child support ) is what is paying your rent....you can claim a child who is in collage till they are 23 go pay a tax perparer alittle money to find out it may be worth your while!
2007-01-17 13:16:30 · answer #5 · answered by beckybuttus 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like you can only file MFS or MFJ. If you file MFS you can't get EIC, so try filing joint and split it.
2007-01-13 17:05:22 · answer #6 · answered by Smart1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋