My
DH is paying
child support for two children (different BMs). His CS is taken out of his paycheck bi-weekly. CS for his son was increased in August 2003 so of course that created an arrearage. Also, because of the increase,
BM for his son is now getting a higher percentage of CS paid in, which means that his ex is getting a smaller cut, which has created an arrearage there.
I've been working on our taxes and trying to figure out whether to file jointly and include an injured spouse claim with the tax return or if it would be better to file separately. We have a 20 month old daughter and I'm claiming her on my taxes. I know that I can get the child
tax credit for her but when because my DH and I live together I can't take the credit for child care expenses if I file separately. That makes absolutely no sense to me! And, because we live together, I can't even claim head of household, which would allow me to take the child care expenses credit and give me a bigger refund.
It is my understanding that filing an injured spouse claim is no guarantee and that it is in their discretion to take either half or all of any refund due when an injured spouse claim is filed.
Has anybody had any experience with this where you filed jointly with an injured spouse claim and they still took the entire refund? What did you do? Does anybody know if there's a way for me to be able to take the child care expense credit and/or file head of househould? Or should I just talk to a tax advisor?
Thanks for your help!
Jill