taxes need help?

Question

this coming tax season i will have entered a new tax bracket from my usual 22g,s a year to 43g,s this year also i am now living under the same roof as my sister her daughter who is 4 and my disabled parents i am currently the only working tax paying member of the house hold and i am single . what i want to know what are my chances this year iam i going to be screwed tax wise or am i going to be ok , plus is there anyway that i can get a break becouse of the fact i take care of my family members ?

Answer 1

First, do you pay over half the costs of maintaining the home? There are five people in the home, and even if your disabled parents have Social Security or other income, their relatively small amount may cover their portion of the expenses. So you have to figure carefully to make sure you pay over half of the costs of maintaining the home.

But if you do, then it may be possible to file as head of household, provided another person in the household qualifies as your dependent.

The first individual to consider is your niece. If you have lived with the child for more than six months, and she does not support herself, then she is your qualifying child. If the mother does not claim the child, and she does not waive the exemption to the father of the child, then you may claim the child. This is a major tax break for you if you can do it.

Your sister and parents might be your dependents, but you would have to show that you provided over half of their support, and that each of them has less than $3,400 of income subject to tax.

If you go to irs.gov and look at the current Pub 17, the above is explained in further detail.

Answer 2

First of all, going into a new tax bracket doesn't make any difference in what you pay on your taxable income that's under the new bracket limit, so the higher bracket will only affect at most about $3600 of your pay, so the most you'd pay extra because of the new bracket is $360. Many people don't understand tax brackets, and think that going into a new bracket has a huge effect on the tax on all of their income - it doesn't.

You might be able to claim some or all of the family members. Figuring whether you can will be a little tricky, since to give you a good answer we'd need to know each of their sources of income and how much they got, and exactly how long you and they lived under the same roof - also who owns the residence, or if it's rented. If you'll post that info someone can give you a better answer - even then it might be close and you might need to consult a CPA who can guide you.

For your niece, if she lived with you for over six months and nobody else can claim her, then you most likely can. If your sister had income for the year and has to or wants to file a return, she can claim her instead of you if she wants to.

For your parents and your sister, one requirement is that you provided over half of the support for the year of anyone you claim. Also, if any of them had gross income for the year over $3400, you can't claim them. Social security, if that's your parents' only income, wouldn't count toward the income test, but would count when figuring support.

If you can claim even one of them, you can most likely file as head of household instead of single - that would decrease your taxes some, and put you back in the 15% bracket.

Post the additional info and somebody will give you more info.

And by the way, congratulations on your much increased income.

Answer 3

Get a copy of publication 501. You will need to figure out what the total support of each person was and how much you paid for each person. You will need to take into account all funds, including savings, social security, disability payments etc.

You will also need to figure out the total cost of the household and whether or not you paid more than half.

(If you can't figure out the totals, you can't figure out if you paid more than half!)

You may find that you can file as single and claim just one dependent; you may find that you can claim head of household and a bunch of dependents, but you need to prove each one you claim.

Answer 4

1. You may qualify as Head of Household.
2. You may be able to claim your sister and her daughter as your dependent.
3. You may be able to claim your parents as your dependents.
With Head of Household status and dependents, you will get a break.

Answer 5

You may be able to claim your family members for credit. However, you must be able to prove to the IRS that you took care of your family members. Good luck