Can I claim stepchildren?

My wife and I seperated last May and I wondered if I could claim them? She was not woking and I gave her bill money for the month of June.

Answers so far are all wrong.

Before we even get to dependents (AND other ways kids figure on a return) you must understand and determine filing status. If you are not divorced at the end of 2007 your choices will be Married filing joint (MFJ) or separately (MFS). However, it is possible to be considered "unmarried" if you qualify as head of household AND do not live with wife for last 6 months of 2007. To qualify as HOH you must have paid more than 1/2 the cost of keeping up a home which is your home and the home of a qualifying child.

What's a Q'fying child? In 2005, the law was changed to make uniform the definition of a Q'fying child for HOH, EIC, and as a dependent. To be a Q child, there are 4 tests:

A. Relationship: Stepchild is OK (BTW, divorce or death of your wife does not terminate your relationship)

B. Age: The child must be under 19, or under 23 AND a F/T student.

C. Time in Home: more than half the year.

D. Support: the child must not have provided more than 1/2 of his/her own support.

The short answer to your question is this: Each of the stepkids who satisfy B & D and who live with you more than half the year will be your dependents.

If the kids don't live with you, it is still possible to claim them as dependents if tests A, B & D are passed AND wife agrees to sign over to you the right to claim them as dependents on form 8332. ( THis does not extend to making them HOH or EIC Qfrs.)

That's the answer to the question you asked. Here's the answer to the more important one you did not ask:

If you are both on good terms with each other, have no adverse history with IRS or State taxing authority and do not owe for 2007, you will pay less tax on an MFJ return than on an MFS return. First, you'll get a higher standard deduction, plus you'll get her personal exemption, higher break points for the tax brackets, and there are many benefits that cannot be had on an MFS return. The bottom line is less tax on an MFJ return.

Now, if you live in a community property state, there is no advantage to MFS other than you don't need her signature, and she is not liable for the tax on your return. However, half of your income is hers & vice versa, so you end up (usually) with 2 identical returns with half the tax on each.

Good luck. I hope that you & she can reconcile. If not, then at the very least be cordial enough to work together at tax time. It can make a HUGE difference.

Hank Roitman, EA
Sacramento, CA

Only if you provide more than half of the yearly support.

From your question, you are referring to 2006.

As far as the IRS is concerned, stepchildren have the same relationship to you as your own natural children. You do not have to adopt them.

If you did not live with your wife or the children for the last six months of the year, but your wife lived with the children, then your wife will have a priority on claiming the children. She would be regarded as the "custodial parent."

I assume that you did not live with the children longer than your wife, so you are not the custodial parent. You could claim the children if your wife signs over the dependency exemption to you using Form 8332. If she does, you could claim the dependency exemption and the child tax credit.

You and your wife still have the option of filing a joint return and claiming the children as long as you were still married at the end of the year.

If your wife paid over half the cost of maintaining the home for the children, she can file as head of household, and you would file as married filing separately.

If your wife has already filed her return and claimed the children, you can't do anything about it unless you can convince her to amend her return.

Listen to Hank, his is the only correct answer.

Another vote for Hank. The first 4 are simply WRONG.

no questions ask IRS answers
http://www.irs.gov/help/article/0,,id=96730,00.html

you have to have supplied more than 50% of financial support for the "dependent" and the "dependent" must have earned income below the personal exemption amount ($3,300).

You can claim them if you supported them for 6 months or more.

In fact, you can claim ANYONE you support for 6 months or more.

Now qualifying for individual tax credits may be different, if they are not your children....

But you can certainly claim them if you supported them for 6 full months.

yes, you have to adopt them

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