Income Tax dependant question?

Question

My ex and I have a problem with who should claim our 2 kids they both live with me and my boyfriend which is thier cousin it sounds gross but I am not blood to him and they did not grow up together but anyway we have joint custody but he sees the girls mabey 3 days a month and pays 237.00 in CS every two weeks he is not active in their lives at all no calls no going to school or doctors and when I ask for any other help he says that is what the cs is for ... but he wants to claim them becouse I dont work but my bf does and he supports them totally more my ex threatens me that he will file some paperwork with the I RS if my bf claims them cuz he said he cant but if they are related and he is supporting them and my divorce decree does not state who claims them shouldn't it be ok ??? this is a very serious question can anyone give advice ??? thanks

Answer 1

Your boyfriend and your kids being related has nothing to do with whether or not he can claim them. It also doesn't matter whether your ex ever sees the kids or is active in their lives.

Since the kids live with you, and there's nothing in your decree saying your ex can claim them, and you haven't signed a form giving him permission to claim them, then he doesn't have the right to claim them.

So the remaining question is whether or not your boyfriend can claim them. If you and the kids lived with him for the ENTIRE year, then it's possible that he can. Since cousins are not on the list of "relatives who don't have to live with you", living with him for the entire year would be required.

Then there's the issue of support. If your boyfriend paid more than half of their total support for the year, he can probably claim them. Your ex is paying $6162 per year in child support. To claim the kids, your bf would have to be able to show that their total support was over $12,324 to be able to claim them.

In any case, child support is not deductible so your ex can't claim that on his taxes like the prior responder suggested.

Answer 2

No, sorry, it is not OK to do what you propose.

I understand the children are related to the boyfriend because the boyfriend is a blood relative of their father. However, cousin is not a close enough relationship to allow him to claim the children as his "qualifying children" for tax purposes.

From your description, the children are the "qualifying children" of you alone. Your choices are either to claim the children yourself, or to sign Form 8332 for one or both of the children and give the form to the father of the children so that he can claim the dependency exemption and the child tax credit.

If you have some income from wages, then you should file a return in order to get the Earned Income Credit for the children. You can do this even if you sign over the dependency exemptions to the father.

GENERAL COMMENT:
If a child is a qualifying child, then that child cannot be the qualifying relative of anyone.

Answer 3

you'll document a joint tax go back except you've reason to document married filing separate. your little ones will be your dependents on your tax go back showing the married joint tax status. convinced you are able to document a joint go back once you have not any earnings. No project.

Answer 4

Ok let me see if this is right... your boyfriend and your chrildren are cousins... and he supports you and them? the ex does nothing for them? then your boyfriend can claim them, if he provided more than half the cost of living for them, there is nothing your ex can do, he can claim his CS on his deductions but that is it, if they do not reside with him and reside more with you and the cousin boyfriend then he can claim them.. [e-mail]