Taxes (Children)?

Question

Here is the situation I have taken in my 15 year old neice, because her parents can handle her anymore she has been living with my husband and I for 6 months and I dont know how I file her on my taxes when she isnt my legal child, now my question is can I file her even though I dont have legal custody and If I can how do I file her and do you know what kind of documentation I will need. Any help is appreciated

Answer 1

Carefully count the number of days your neice actually stayed with you vs. her parents.

If she stayed with a relative for 183 days or more, she's that relative's qualifying child and only that person can claim her on the tax return (if more than one person qualifies, they can choose which return).

If she stayed with you more than 183 days, claim her. If the IRS wants proof, you get affidavits from school, doctors, landlords etc.

Answer 2

If she lived with you for MORE than 6 months, even 6 months and one day, you can claim her unless one of her parents lived with you also. If it wasn't over 6 months, you can't. You'd need her social security number to list her on your return as a dependent. A niece can be a qualifying child and if you claim her you can also get the child tax credit for her.

You don't have to have legal custody of need any paperwork or documents to claim her, since she's your niece, although if someone else also claims her, the IRS will ask for proof that she lived with you for over 6 months.

Answer 3

There are five tests that must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:

Relationship,

Age - Under age 19 at the end of the year,

Residency,

Support, and

Special test for qualifying child of more than one person.

These tests are explained next.

Relationship Test
To meet this test, a child must be:

Your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them, or

Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant (for example, your niece or nephew) of any of them.

Residency Test
To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.

If she lived with you for six months and one day, she would qualify as your dependent. You woul't likely have to document anything unless someone else also claims her or you are audited for some reason. Good luck.

Jim Kirby, CPA

Answer 4

I suppose you or your niece would have to apply to family court for guardianship. Once the court appoints you guardian, you could claim her as a dependent. If you complete this before December 31, you can claim your niece for the whole year. Contact you local legal aide office to get started. Most larger cities offer free or low-cost legal assistance or first time consultations. If you live near a law school, they might have a program.