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Feb 15, 2012 No. If you can claim your daughter as a dependent on your income tax return, she cannot claim herself on her income tax return.
You cannot claim a personal exemption. In this case, your daughter should check the box on her return indicating that someone else can claim her as a dependent.
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Full Time, Income Tax Return, Personal Exemption, Time College Student
Feb 15, 2012 If your parent (or someone else) can claim you as a dependent, use this guide to see if you must file a return.
In this guide, unearned income includes taxable interest, ordinary dividends, and capital gain distributions. It also includes unemployment
compensation, taxable social security benefits, pensions, annuities, and distributions of unearned income from a trust. Earned income
includes salaries, wages, tips, professional fees, and taxable scholarship and fellowship grants. Gross income is the total of your unearned
and earned income.
Single dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $950.
· Your earned income was over $5,800.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $950, or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $300.
Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your earned income was over $7,250 ($8,700 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $2,400 ($3,850 if 65 or older and blind), or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $1,750 ($3,200 if 65 or older and blind).
Married dependents. Were you either age 65 or older or blind?
No. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $950.
· Your earned income was over $5,800.
· Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $950, or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $300.
Yes. You must file a return if any of the following apply.
· Your unearned income was over $2,100 ($3,250 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your earned income was over $6,950 ($8,100 if 65 or older and blind).
· Your gross income was at least $5 and your spouse files a separate return and itemizes deductions.
· Your gross income was more than the larger of—
· $2,100 ($3,250 if 65 or older and blind), or
· Your earned income (up to $5,500) plus $1,450 ($2,600 if 65 or older and blind).
Annuities, Capital Gain Distributions, Dependents, Dividends, Fellowship Grants, Gross Income, Pensions, Professional Fees, Salaries, Scholarship, Social Security, Social Security Benefits, Taxable Interest, Taxable Social Security, Taxable Social Security Benefits, Unearned Income, Unemployment Compensation, Wages
Feb 15, 2012 Exception for certain children under age 19 or full-time students
If certain conditions apply, you can elect to include on your return the income of a child who was under age 19 at the end of 2011 or was a full-time student under age 24 at the end of 2011. To do so, use Form 8814. If you make this election, your child does not have to file a return.
A child born on January 1, 1988, is considered to be age 24 at the end of 2011. Do not use Form 8814 for such a child.
Resident aliens
These rules also apply if you were a resident alien.
Nonresident aliens and dual-status aliens
These rules also apply if you were a nonresident alien or a dual-status alien and both of the following apply:
1. You were married to a U.S. citizen or resident alien at the end of 2011.
2. You elected to be taxed as a resident alien.
Feb 4, 2012 Your children will always remain in your heart. But if you’re like most parents, you don’t expect them to always remain in your house.
Alas, the prolonged economic downturn has forced thousands of young adults to move in with their parents until their job prospects improve. These multigenerational households must tackle a host of thorny issues, ranging from the allocation of chores to the rules for overnight guests.
With tax season approaching, a lot of parents are grappling with another issue: Can you claim an adult child as a dependent on your tax return? For 2011, each dependent reduces your taxable income by $3,700. For a family in the 25% tax bracket, that works out to a tax savings of $925, which buys a lot of groceries.
Sadly, the fact that you provide housing and sustenance for an adult child — or anyone else — doesn’t automatically mean you can claim that individual as a dependent. Factors that affect whether an individual is a “qualified child” include:
•Relationship. The individual must be your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, stepsibling or a descendant of one of those (i.e., a grandchild).
•Age. They must have been under age 19 at year’s end, or under 24 if the child was a full-time student for at least five months of the year.
•Residence. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. There are some exceptions for children of parents who are separated or divorced.
•Support. The child cannot have provided over half of his or her own support during the year. To calculate how much you spend on support, you can include your child’s college costs, food, clothing and medical and dental expenses. If your child is on your health insurance plan, you can include a portion of your premium, says Richard Rhodes, an enrolled agent in Hinckley, Ohio.
You can also include a percentage of your ongoing household expenses when calculating the amount you spend on support. For example, if five people live in your home and one is an adult child, you can include one-fifth of your utility bills, Rhodes says.
As long as your child’s income doesn’t exceed the amount you spent on support, and meets the other tests, you can claim the child as a dependent, says Terry Durkin, an enrolled agent in Burlington, Mass. For example, suppose your daughter graduated from college in May, found a job in September and earned $20,000. As long as the amount you spent on her support exceeded $20,000, you can claim her as a dependent, Durkin says. However, if you claim your child as a dependent, she can’t claim a personal exemption on her own tax return.
Qualifying relative
The live-in adult child phenomenon isn’t limited to recent college graduates. Thousands of adults who have been out of college for a few years have also been forced to move in with their parents because they lost their jobs, their homes or both.
If you’re supporting an adult child who fails the age test, you may still be able to claim him or her as a “qualifying relative.” Be advised, though, that the standard for claiming a qualifying relative as a dependent is much higher.
The qualifying relative must have gross income of less than the amount of the personal exemption. This income test prevents a lot of parents from claiming older adult children as dependents because even a part-time job will render the child ineligible, Durkin says.
At the other end of the generational spectrum, hard times have also forced many families to take in older parents, or provide them with financial support. Claiming a parent as a dependent may be easier than claiming an older child or other relative, for two reasons:
•Social Security isn’t included in the gross income test. If Social Security is your parent’s sole source of income, the income test isn’t a problem for you. However, you can’t claim a parent who earns $3,700 or more from other sources, such as a pension, interest or dividends.
•Your parent doesn’t have to live with you. Suppose your parent lives in an apartment or assisted-living facility, but you pay most of the bills. You can claim that parent as a dependent, Rhodes says, as long as the other tests are met.
Adult Child, College Costs, Dental Expenses, Economic Downturn, Enrolled Agent, Food Clothing, Health Insurance Plan, Hinckley Ohio, Household Expenses, Months Of The Year, Multigenerational Households, Overnight Guests, Richard Rhodes, S College, Stepchild, Tax Bracket, Taxable Income, Thorny Issues, Time Student, Young Adults
Jan 14, 2012 Some people may qualify for more than one filing status. Here are eight facts about filing status that the IRS wants you to know so you can choose the best option for your situation.
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