My 16 y/o son, who is a fulltime student and I support 100% financially (lives with me) and materially, works parttime (less than 15 hours a week) at minimum wage since July of this year. I have been claiming him on my returns since birth so I don't have to worry about anyone else claiming him...and I am a single mother so I file the EIC as well. My questions are, how would I go about claiming him this year and what do I do with his W-2 (his YTD income/wage)? Do I need to fill out another form? Filling out my returns have been very simple as I do not owe/own anything. I usually file taxes online for free.
Thank you for your time :).
2007-10-20 07:31:52 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
You file your return as you always have -- Head of Household and claim him as a dependent and take the EIC if eligible. His income has no affect on your return as long as he does not provide over 50% of his OWN support.
He will have to file his own return if his income exceeds the filing requirement amount ($5,350 in 2007) or if he had any tax withheld and wants a refund of that if his income was less than the filing requirement amount.
StevenW has blown it on this one. He's usually pretty good but has missed the mark this time. As long as your son is under 19 (or under age 23 as a full time student) his income does not matter as long as he doesn't provide over 50% of his own support. He could earn millions but if he provided less than half of his own support he'd still be your dependent.
2007-10-20 08:58:00 · answer #1 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your return is filed exactly as it was last year. Nothing has changed, except if your son turns 17 before the end of the year. Then you will not get the Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. This could mean a decrease in your refund of up to $1,000. However, your son is listed on your return as a dependent. His income does not appear on your return.
Since you already know how to file your own return, you can show him how to do his, with him as the taxpayer. Use the online program you are familiar with. He can use the same form you use, or he can choose to use a 1040EZ (or the software will figure this out).
Filing status: single
Exemptions: zero
Just enter his W-2 into the program and that's about it. If he has wages under $5,350 he will get all of his withholding refunded. If his wages are over $5,350 he will not get all of his withholding back.
He is not going to get any credits or deductions other than the standard deduction.
2007-10-20 10:53:03 · answer #2 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You claim him the same way you always have, except that if he turns17 by the end of the year, you won't get a child tax credit for him. He'll still count toward EIC though.
You don't do anything on your return about his W-2. If he made over $5350 for the year, or if he had anything withheld for federal income tax, he will file a return of his own, and will check the box on HIS return that says he is a dependent. If he didn't have anything withheld for federal income tax, and made less than $5350, he doesn't have to do anything about filing.
2007-10-20 11:50:27 · answer #3 · answered by Judy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Even though he makes very little, he should file his own taxes (with your help). Chances are he will get back any taxes he paid. On his tax form there is a box that he will check stating that he is being claimed as a dependent. You will file your taxes as usual and claim him.
2007-10-20 07:42:17 · answer #4 · answered by Suzy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Since he is still a minor and you are supporting him, you would still claim an exemption for him on your return. He will need to file a separate return in his own right for his income.
2007-10-20 07:35:31 · answer #5 · answered by npk 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
I really don't know. All I can say is that if Ron Paul get elected President, we won't have to worry about filing, being audited, keeping records, or submitting to nosy bureaucrats who want to know our private financial matters.
It would mean an end to the idea that our income belongs to government, and they decide how much of it we get to keep. It also means a return to Constitutional government and the restoration of our civil rights.
We would no longer have to contend with politicians trying to disarm the American people, nor their creating enemies around the world.
It would mean that the special interests who own most of our current politicians would lose billions of dollars. That's why mainstream media pretends that Ron Paul doesn't exist.
2007-10-20 11:02:27 · answer #6 · answered by iraqisax 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You cannot claim as a "qualifying relative" a person whose gross income was at least a certain amount, $3300 in 2006, excluding income of a disabled person from a sheltered workshop.
If you were claiming him as a "qualifying relative" and he made at least the amount for 2007 that makes him no longer your dependent, then you file normally, except without claiming him, and he files and claims himself on his return. If he made less than the amount for 2007 that would have made him no longer your dependent, then you file normally and he files claiming no dependents.
If you were claiming him as a "qualifying child", then you file normally and he files claiming no dependents.
2007-10-20 08:19:06 · answer #7 · answered by StephenWeinstein 7 · 0⤊ 6⤋