I heard from a friend that we can do this....If we both want to claim one of our children and we are not married, can we file single and he claim him for part of the year and I claim him for the other part? Plus, if that is possible in order to do this do we both need diffarant addresses? Thank you for any advice on this.
Jeanie67
2007-12-21 11:28:27 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
You have 1 child, right? If you file separately, only 1 of you may claim that child as a dependent.
The same child cannot be claimed twice.
2007-12-21 11:43:10 · answer #1 · answered by Uncle Pennybags 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Your friend is misinformed. Only one of you can claim the child. The parent that the child spends the most amount of time with is the custodial parent and gets the exemption. You can switch off each year if you wish. In that case, the custodial parent would give the other parent a From 8332 which would be attached to the non-custodial parent's tax return.
ONLY the custodial parent can claim the EIC (if otherwise eligible) or file as Head of Household, however.
If you actually live together, again only one of you can claim the child but you can figure your taxes both ways and file whichever way works out best for you. If you live together, either of you (but NOT both!) can file as Head of Household and claim the EIC (if otherwise eligible).
2007-12-21 19:53:24 · answer #2 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No. One child can be a depended of only one taxpayer. There is no such thing as half a dependent. The taxpayer who provides more than 50 percent of the child's upkeep can claim the child. Sometimes deciding who provides more than 50 percent is difficult. If both of yo claim the child, you would be violating the law.
If you are talking about two children, of course you can each claim one as a dependent. Separate addresses are not necessary.
Ideally, you should both calculate your tax with and without the dependent(s) then have the one claim him that will make the total tax of both of you smaller.
2007-12-21 19:39:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
You indicate you have more than one child. A dependency exemption for a child cannot be shared with another taxpayer. However, each parent could claim one child on his or her separate return.
The parent that pays over half of the household expenses may file as Head of Household, if he or she claims a child (of his or hers). The other parent would file as Single.
In order for each of you to file separate returns as described above, you do not need separate addresses. You could each qualify for the credits connected to a qualifying child dependent. Be sure you do not both try to claim Head of Household, that is not allowed.
2007-12-21 19:53:04 · answer #4 · answered by ninasgramma 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you saying you just have one child? No, you can't both claim the same child - there is no such thing as a partial exemption. It doesn't matter whether you have the same address or different addresses.
If you are saying that you have multiple children, then you can split them up on your returns however you want to.
2007-12-25 02:04:42 · answer #5 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, as long as you file separately and do not claim Head of Household.
2007-12-21 19:35:54 · answer #6 · answered by Feline05 5 · 0⤊ 6⤋