tax questions, please help?

Question

ok here goes... last year we filed married filing jointly and we had 1 child. i made about 6000 and he made about 20000, we got the EITC and the child tax credit... this year i made less than 5000 and he made about 20000 again. we still have just the one child who is 2 years old now. we have a new car if that makes a difference its a 2006 saturn ion that we make payments on....
basically im trying to figure out what tax credits and such we should file to get the biggest return...can my hubby claim me as a dependent since i made less than 5000? if so would i still file my income? ...please help, i know i can look on tax prep sites and irs.gov, but im 20 years old and understand NONE OF THIS!

can you tell me what other credits and such we may qualifie for (on h&r block, it says some credits like the "aditional child tax credit" , and a few other onse that i dont remember, that it seems like were eligble, but last year we didnt recieve....

ok...thank you....

Answer 1

You cannot be a dependent on your spouse's tax return. You need to put your income together with his. Your car makes no difference on your return if you are both employees.

From a tax standpoint, your return this year is going to look like your return last year. You will file married filing jointly, with a dependent child. You will get the Earned Income Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Additional Child Tax Credit (you can get this credit with one child).

If you paid for child care while you both worked, you will get the Dependent Care Credit.

Don't forget the Telephone Excise Tax Credit, everyone gets that.

Answer 2

a spouse is never considered to be a dependent. when you file jointly, you get personal exemptions for both of you. your child is your dependent. and yes, you must file your income.

you dont get any tax deductions for your car, unless it is used for business purposes. you cannot deduct expenses just for commuting to and from work.

there is a child care credit also. if you have your child in daycare or some other program, you can probably get a tax credit for this.

Answer 3

You will still qualify for the EIC. The "additional child tax credit" only kicks in when you have 3 children or more. The child tax credit is $1,000 per child, but it cannot reduce your tax liability below zero, which means it is not a refundable credit. However, if you have 3 children or more that qualify for the child tax credit, and your income level is below a certain amount, then the child tax credit can reduce your tax liability below zero and the amount of the child tax credit in excess of your tax liability would be refunded to you as an additional child tax credit.

With regards to your car, you cannot claim your gasoline expenses for "driving to and from work". That mileage is commuting miles, and commuting miles is never considered business miles. Only car expenses related to business miles (business use of your car) can be deducted. Also, business use of your car when you are an employee is considered an employee business expense, which

1. requires you to itemize in order to deduct it, AND
2. the deductible amount is limited to the amount in excess of 2% of your adjusted gross income

If you earned $5,000 and your husband earned $20,000, your adjusted gross income is $25,000, so 2% of your adjusted gross income is $500.

If you paid for child care so you could work, then you can claim up to $1,400 per child, $2,800 for two children or more, of your child care expenses for the child care credit, which is 20% of your eligible child care expenses.

Answer 4

Buy a simple cheap tax program like Turbo Tax. Go thru it step by step and it will ask you question and you answer yes or no and it will get you thru your problems.

Answer 5

You'll get the EITC for the child! Definately but here's something you probably didn't know! You can also save the receipts from the gas stations for gas you purchased to get to and from work and the gov reimburses you some of it! I'm not sure about claiming you as a dependent b/c you did work eventhough it was little!