Question about filing taxes...

[BUNNY]

I know it is a little early but I am trying to do my research so I don't make any mistakes. This will be the first year I don't get to file taxes because I stay home with my kids. My boyfriend supports the family. We have 2 children together and also my daughter. How many can he claim as dependents on his tax return. Does he claim me? Can he claim my daughter even though legally she is not his?

[Newguy07]

if you guys aren't married no.

[BUNNY]

if you guys aren't married no.

I jumped the gun and asked online because I just called the IRS and the lady said she said we are both eligible to be claimed on his return. I told her we were not married and my child is not legally his. She said we would be able to be claimed.

[nipster]

I jumped the gun and asked online because I just called the IRS and the lady said she said we are both eligible to be claimed on his return. I told her we were not married and my child is not legally his. She said we would be able to be claimed.

you might want to consult a tax professional, that sounds like complete bullshit to me...

[Newguy07]

you might want to consult a tax professional, that sounds like complete bullshit to me...

Yea, those IRS people you called are probably $10 an hour don't give a fucks. I would be careful about those kind of deductions.

I don't see how it is possible because you guys aren't married.

[fencerider2]

With the new OBAMA MAMA plan you can deduct all the kids in the neighborhood if they look like you. :lmao:

[ms. kat]

I believe he can claim all of you on his taxes because you and the kids lived with him for more than half of the year, and the kids are not being claimed on anyone else tax returns, like the bio-dads for example.

This page on the IRS site explains it all.
There are certain tests that must be passed to claim them.
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq2-3.html

This is also pretty easy to understand.
http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/Claiming_Dependents.htm

Dependents are generally anyone whom you take care of financially and live with you for more than half of the tax year.

[clear]

I am with Kat, just make sure you have proof that he has supported you for more than 6 months.

[ms. kat]

Oh, when you start the blogging for pay thing, you will be in charge of your own taxes, it's self employment, none of the companies take taxes out of you, but they will send you 1099's at the end of the year.
It is your responsibility to pay taxes on your self employment earnings.
You will only have to file for this kind of work if you have made more than $500 for the whole year and all the companies included.
So if you work for 3 companies, and you have earned $500 or more combined, you have to file.

[XtremeVision]

Oh, when you start the blogging for pay thing, you will be in charge of your own taxes, it's self employment, none of the companies take taxes out of you, but they will send you 1040's at the end of the year.
It is your responsibility to pay taxes on your self employment earnings.
You will only have to file for this kind of work if you have made more than $500 for the whole year and all the companies included.
So if you work for 3 companies, and you have earned $500 or more combined, you have to file.

They send you a 1099, not a 1040.

[MianoSM]

If someone takes care of you (home over your head, food, clothes, etc) for greater then half of the year they can claim you as a dependent. For any and all questions you really should consult with a CPA though.

[BigBodySmith]

He can claim them, infact you can claim anyone you want, just make sure there is a paper trail if anything goes down...

[ms. kat]

They send you a 1099, not a 1040.

That's what meant, thanks for catching it. My brain was doing a gazillion things while I was posting, and I got the 1040 & the 1099 confused, but yup, that's correct.

They send a 1099 at the end of the year, no taxes taken out, taxes are our responsibility as independent contractors, freelance writers.

[nipster]

That's what meant, thanks for catching it. My brain was doing a gazillion things while I was posting, and I got the 1040 & the 1099 confused, but yup, that's correct.

They send a 1099 at the end of the year, no taxes taken out, taxes are our responsibility as independent contractors, freelance writers.

There is a big difference between a 1099 (independent contractor) and true self employment.

If you are a contractor, you pay normal taxes, if you are self employed, you have to pay the 6.x social security and 2.x medicare and then match each, you end up paying 15.x% "self employment" tax because of this.

I am not sure where this person would fall, but keep this in mind. You could end up getting fucked bad if you dont pay that 15% if you ever get audited (which being self employed, makes being audited more likely)

[Equinox]

If you request it the IRS will give you a ruling number or a tracking number(I forget the name to be honest) on issues that should in theory document that they told you something. To my knowledge they've never told me anything false and have reliably escalated complex issues to higher personnel and freely offered these numbers to document our conversations.

If I was in the situation of paying for all of a minor's expenses for a year I would certainly ask my CPA if i could claim them as a dependent and expect him to say "Yes". I also might find this: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p503.pdf useful.

Disclaimer:
Since I am not a tax professional my advice should be treated as lies. I'm almost certainly trying to get you eaten by aliens, thrown off a cliff, and/or assassinated by the IRS's band of deadly ninjas.