Earned Income Credit question

[FLMom]

State of Florida

Original custody order during tax year 2004 was 50/50 custodial time with Parent A as the primary residential.

Background:

Parent A, in defiance of a court order and Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, denies Parent B visitation as outlined in Order. This denial of visitation changes schedule from 50/50 to EOW and four hours one weekday a week.

Earned Income Credit rules state:

"Your child must have lived with you in the United States for more than half of 2004 (183 days or more) or you will not be eligible to claim the credit, even if you meet all other requirements."

There is a small section pertaining to "special circumstances".

"Count time that you or your child is away from home on a temporary absence due to a special circumstance as time lived at home. Examples of a special circumstance include:
Illness,
School attendance,
Detention in a juvenile facility,
Business,
Vacation, and
Military service."

Questions:

1) Can denial of visitation be used as a "special circumstance" to enable Parent B to claim Earned Income Credit, which therefore gives stepfather the ability to claim Head of Household?

2) If Parent A denies Parent B's right to claim the Earned Income Credit, what recourse does Parent B have?

[socrateaser]

>1) Can denial of visitation be used as a "special
>circumstance" to enable Parent B to claim Earned Income
>Credit, which therefore gives stepfather the ability to claim
>Head of Household?

Whenever a law or regulation uses the word "include," it means that there "may" be other unlisted exceptions available. So, you can make an argument that you were denied, unlawfully time that you were entitled to, and the other parent shouldn't be permitted to profit from their wrongful acts.

What you have going against you, is that your order makes the other parent the primary custodian, so that parent will be presumed to have the greater amount of actual time with the child.

So, it comes down to what you can prove, and frankly, it's pretty hard to prove that you have cared for the child more than 182 days during the year. It's also hard for the other parent, but if they're the custodial parent, they will probably have the edge in the judge's/IRS's mind.

>2) If Parent A denies Parent B's right to claim the Earned
>Income Credit, what recourse does Parent B have?

The IRS will give the first parent who files, the exemptions, and then deny the other parent and wait for them to prove otherwise.

So, it's a race to the mailbox. If the issue actually becomes a courtroom contest, or the IRS asks for more info, you'll have to prove you had the child more than 182 days, as will the other parent.

[patton]

I have done this twice now. And like Soc said it is HARD to do.  And the other thing is that I was not fighting with the CP (Mother) but her mother the Grandmother had claimed our son.

But you have to have TONS of stuff to send to the IRS, but the advantage I had, was that I had all the stuff and they had nothing.

I had notarized letters from my church showing his attendance 55% of the time.

I had notarized letter from the daycare showing his attendance 55% of the time.

I had EVERY receipt for every scrap of food, clothing and shelter I provided for him (and that's a lot of receipts let me tell you)

You need a statement from your mortgate company or whoever you lease from concerning dollar amt of that.

Copies of all untility bills.

Just so you know in 2002 I was the NCP, but had child over 50%, and in 2003 I was awarded sole custody the middle of the year, but still had him over  50% of the time.

This year should go smoothly, I filed and the IRS accepted my filing, but if either her or her mother file, I'm sure I"ll get another letter, but I'm prepared.


It's a lot of stuff believe me and then it will take 5-6 months for the IRS to sort everything out.  If you both file and say CP files first and claims the exemption.  And you file next.  You will be denied, but you will get letters from the IRS and you have 30 days to respond.  Either yes you are protesting or no you are not.  And you must have all your information sent in to the IRS in those 30 days.

[patton]

(NM)

[DecentDad]

What happens if you received the exemption but later the IRS determines you're in the wrong?

Just interest on the taxes owed?

[patton]

You have to pay back the money with interest.  And if the IRS determines you did it intentially you are penalized 3 years I think and cannot file EIC.  or it may be 10 yrs.  They have those rules printed up.

[whippertizzy]

Well it wasn't with earned income credit, but my DH went through something similar with his ex and their taxes.

When my Dh married his ex she had two children. The children's father was in Jail.  My DH took care of their everyneed until they got divorced about 4 years later. So he claimed them on his taxes. (he and his ex filed jointly)  What happened was somehow the childrens father claimed them from jail and somehow the IRS decided he was the one who had the right to claim them. My DH and his ex had to pay the money back, with penalties and interest.

What makes it funny is that the IRS made a mistake, and all they needed was the ex to send in ONE piece of paper so it would wipe out 15,000 dollars worth of back taxes.  But now she is back with her original baby's daddy, so she doesn't want to get him in trouble for filing a false return. The IRS does not care who paid the bill as long as someone was paying the bill. Ex never made a payment. And she was laughing it up because DH was paying the bill but she wasn't. She hadn't filed taxes since 98 because of this.

Well now that DH is dead, the last laugh is on her. The IRS hunted her down because she is the only person responsible for it, and Now she has to foot the whole bill, plus another 12,000 in other back taxes from not filing all those other years, and penalties, and interest. She thought that the bill would pass from my DH to me just because we were married.

Even if she clears it up by taking in the piece of paper they needed, the bill goes to the guy who is her husband now.  What goes around comes around.