tax question

[deb09]

OK so stbx moved out after june (significant for head of household deduction).

I asked if he wanted to file jointly.  He said no - that we could each file head of household and each claim one child.

He moved very far away so the 50/50 arrangement planned with each of us claiming one child is bye bye.

My questions:

Can we both claim HOH when we are still married?

Can we both claim HOH since I filed before June?

Can we both claim HOH since he didn't leave until after June?

(IRS states that HOH can be claimed if separation before June...)

Since he is so far away now - and it is very obvious that the children do not live with him 50% of the time, nor does he pay >50% of their support, should he even be allowed to claim a child?

Filing married filing separately we lose the child care expense deductions, earned income credit etc.

What should I do?  Ask him to file jointly and we split any return/owed money?  Tell him to take a flying leap and file for everything before he does?

He would not be very cooperative trying to get him to file jointly.  (sigh)  He won't even sign a settlement agreement after I already paid him money to settle - he took his money and left.

Deb

[Peanutsdad]

If it is NOT in any court order that you both claim one child each, you are entitled to both excemptions if the children reside with you.


BUT,, if you had previously agreed to split the children on taxes and he can prove that,, you COULD be hit by the IRS. If it is in your court orders that he gets one, and you claim both, there again,, YOU end up in trouble with the nice tax folks.


In the absense of him being able to prove it, yes, you could get both excemptions, and it would be him that ends up in trouble with the IRS.

The decent thing to do, is tell him you are claiming both.

[MixedBag]

Figure it every which way that you are allowed because you have choices.

THEN show him why he should cooperate to get the largest tax return.

But I suggest you be careful about actually getting the refund from a married filing joint into your hands (because there's only one space on the back for an account number.)

Does the IRS take the refund and send half to you and half to him?

Would that be fair?

Hmmm....

Years ago -- and we're talking over 15 years, I was married still and we had two kids, but I was eligible to file HOH.  That's what I did -- prepared the taxes the two different ways.  THEN I realized that I put in 2/3's of the money withheld by the IRS so that part wasn't 50/50, but he wanted the refund to be 50/50.   So that's something you should look at as well.

[deb09]

I don't have all the information to figure it out every which way.  He had his W-2's shipped to his new address as well as his mortgage interest statement and he also deducts business expenses.

So basically I can guestimate what it might have been, but won't know the true bottom line from what I have access to.

Funny thing about your story - every year he would dramatically claim that we were going to owe thousands of dollars.  Then he would say that I was taking too many exemptions.  

And you have to understand that we always had separate finances, and if I had taken less exemptions it would have been less money in my pocket every paycheck.  I was the one that paid for the kids clothes, the food, etc and my own half of the household bills.  He was ripping me off because he never paid for clothes or food.  We split the return...

  So one year I picked up the paperwork did the math and told him to take a flying leap because I was paying a higher percent of the taxes than he was.

The IRS will not split a joint return.

The real problem is that he left after June and if he wants to rat me out, he can claim that he lived there and I would be ineligeable for HOH.

Deb

[MixedBag]

Don't open yourself up to the point where he can "rat you out" -- that's no good no matter what.

If you can prove you qualify for HOH, then go for it.  But make sure you can prove it.

Doesn't sound like you have a cooperative future EX at all....protect yourself (and the kids), no one else will.