I am getting married Aug 4th and I have a tax question. Me and my future spouse will be living apart, him in DC and me in Richmond. I will be living with my father. My father has taken out some money for me from his retirement this year (for college) and is depending on filing me as a dependant so that he can get some of this money back he will loose. Can I be married and still claimed by my father as a dependant? I will live in his house and be dependant but I just didnt know if this would mess his taxes up. Seriouse answers only please.
2007-07-06 00:07:17 · 4 answers · asked by rn_bratt 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ Other - Taxes
Yes, you can still be claimed as a dependent by your father if he meets all the requirements. One of those requirements is that you do NOT file a joint return with your husband for the year.
There is some confusion in the answers above on the exception to the rule that says if you and your spouse have no tax liability and file a return only to collect a refund, then the exemption for your dad is not disqualified. That applies to filing a JOINT return.
See page 25-27 of IRS publication 17.
The above answers are correct though that, depending on circumstances such as how much income your fiance has, it's possible that the extra taxes paid on his (separate) return could be more than your dad would save. If your fiance has very little income, then your dad would very likely save more.
2007-07-06 19:20:47 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Once you marry, your father can no longer claim you as a dependent. If he claims you as a dependent it will be disallowed automatically by the IRS when you file your joint return with your husband.
Even if you file Married Filing Separately this will trigger an investigation by the IRS of your father's dependency claim. Filing MFS will cost you and your husband more in taxes than your father is likely to save so there would be no benefit from him trying to claim you as a dependent.
It doesn't matter how much of your support that your father supplies during the year. He could supply 100% of your support throughout the year but if you got married on Dec 31st he would not be able to claim you as a dependent for the year.
There is a single exception to this rule. If you and your husband each earn so little that you would have no tax liability at all (the total tax line must read $0) if you filed separate returns and the only reason that you filed a joint return was to claim a refund of taxes withheld then your father could claim you as a dependent. This is an unusual situation so it rarely applies.
2007-07-06 09:13:26 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I also agree with Boston but can make a suggestion to you and your father. Have your father calculate what his taxes would have been if he were able to claim you as a dependent, then calculate with out the deduction and see what the difference is, once you and your hubby calculate your taxes, since it sounds like you are still going to be a full time student, you may be able to "pay" your father back for what he loses with what you would be getting back.
2007-07-06 22:52:18 · answer #3 · answered by Mom of 2 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I second what bostonianinmo said.
2007-07-06 10:19:23 · answer #4 · answered by Wayne Z 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋