How much money do you get back per child? I heard that it's 1500 from one person and another person told me that you don't get anything. Can someone tell me please? I am not married but I am living the father of the child/my fiancee. He makes more than me. So should I claim the child since I make less or should he claim the child since he makes more? We're not gonna claim the child til next years income tax b/c the baby will be born next year. I live in PA and I've searched all over the Internet and couldn't find anything on it. Thank you for your help in advance.
2007-09-08 17:14:40 · 8 answers · asked by Wendie 6 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
PA state tax is a flat rate, with no allowances for children, so having a child makes no difference on your PA taxes.
On your federal return, it's the same for all states. You get one exemption for a child. Since you aren't married, you will be filing separate returns, so either one of you, but not both, can claim the baby - unless, of course, you get married before the end of 2008, then you can file a joint return. If you aren't married by then, you can figure it both ways and the person who will save the most can claim him/her. The exemption for 2007 is $3400 - it will probably go up a little for 2008 when one of you will claim the exemption. The exemption amount is subtracted from your income for the year before taxes are figured.
The person claiming the child also gets a child tax credit of $1000. This subtracts directly from your tax liability for the year. If you don't owe that much total, it will take your tax for the year to zero - you won't get the extra back.
Depending on circumstances, it's possible you wouldn't get anything, if you don't pay any tax to begin with. But assuming that you do owe some tax for the year, your tax would be decreased if you are the person claiming the child as a dependent.
If the person claiming the child is paying MORE than half of the cost of maintaining the household, that person could most likely file as head of household rather than single, which saves a little more in taxes if you owe any.
Depending on the income of the person claiming the child, that person might also be eligible for an earned income credit because of the child.
You probably didn't get more answers to your original question because it sounded like you were restricting it to PA - but it's really the same for federal taxes no matter what state you live in, and for PA it doesn't matter.
2007-09-08 17:46:37 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There are two credits involved here, plus the dependency exemption. The credits are the Child Tax Credit/Additional Child Tax Credit, which is up to $1,000, and the second credit is the Earned Income Credit which is up to about $2,500.
For parents who are unmarried but live with the child, it is possible to split the benefits for the child.
You and the father need to work out your tax returns in the following cases:
1. One parent claims nothing, the other claims the exemption and CTC/ACTC, and EIC.
2. One claims the exemption and CTC/ACTC, the other claims EIC.
So in all there will be four cases to figure. Usually, the higher earning parent will claim the exemption, CTC/ACTC, and file as Head of Household, and the lower earning parent will claim the EIC for the child. In the best possible case your refund from the child could exceed $4,000.
FYI, if you cannot agree who claims the exemption (and the CTC/ACTC that goes with the exemption), the higher earning parent gets to take the exemption.
2007-09-09 00:44:07 · answer #2 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My answer is the same now as it was 39 min ago.
There is a $1,000 per child child tax credit, but it is a non-refundable credit (you can't get anything back if you don't have a tax liability). More than likely your fiancee should claim the child (as long as he is the father he can), and he will be able to file as head of household. Also, the child will give him another personal exemption, 3,400 for 2007. Now, if you two get married before the end of 2008 you won't have to worry about who would claim the child, as you'd be filing a return as married filing jointly.
2007-09-09 00:23:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have five childern and it is 1,000 per child credit. This is called earned income should be IRS Form schedule EIC. There is other factors to keep in mind that offset some of these monies. Married,single and income. I hate to say this but I will a couple can get more benifits by staying single and living together than to get married but you have to decide what is morally right. A single parent can get all kinds of help. The IRS has a web site type some keywords in google. Good luck and hope it helped.
2007-09-09 00:37:23 · answer #4 · answered by Joshua S 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
If you are in the same bracket it doesn't matter who claims. A tax accountant can run it to find the best answer. Most likely it would be the father - higher income - more likely to be in a higher bracket.
2007-09-09 01:06:58 · answer #5 · answered by jimmyp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best person to know the right answer to your question would be a tax preparer (CPA). Look in the phone book and call them to find out the correct response. Good luck.
2007-09-09 00:23:40 · answer #6 · answered by puanani 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree, contacting a CPA is your best choice. They will give you a precise answer after reviewing all the information. They will most likely charge you as fee as their services are very valuable.
I know many CPAs and I can reccommend some.
Good luck,
2007-09-09 06:41:21 · answer #7 · answered by glaciergizzlybear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
THe IRS website has tax forms available. Go fill one out for each of you and see what the results are.
2007-09-09 00:24:14 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋