hrblockchristinew
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First of all if he lives in the same household as you he can not claim head of household. He ca only claim MFJ and MFS. If he files MFS he does not get the earned income credit.
No it is not true that the highest wage earner in the household claims the children. It depends on whose children they are, and if you are married. There are many factors that are to be considered.
Check these web sites
Any advice included in this message is based on our understanding of current tax law as it applies to the facts that you gave us.
http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_calculators/index.html
http://www.hrblock.com/taxes/tax_tips/index.html |
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Roger M
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you should claim married and claim the children together.
If you file married/separate (dumb) either of you could claim the children.
Consult a divorce lawyer |
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m320753
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you should be filing jointly. ask any accountant |
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v b
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If you all live together and then file separate and both try to claim the children, he wins on the higher AGI tiebreaker. |
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growing inside
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Ever heard of a joint account?
I'm sorry for your situation, but do you really want to stay with someone who will not pay any of the bills? |
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Doctor Deth
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you should be filing married jointly - so you are BOTH claiming the kids |
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Rachel
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Why are you not filing jointly? Sorry you have such a selfish husband...he should be more concerned about the family than himself. ugh |
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Baby #1 Due in March
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Whoa, he sounds like a real winner...
Why doesn't he contribute to the household where HIS children and wife live? He seems selfish.
I guess that isn't the point. You two decide among each other who gets to claim the children and no it does not matter who makes more money. Tell him that you will be claiming the children this year to pay some household bills and to buy things for them. Then, seek a divorce attorney...do you really want to continue living like this? |
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firedraven
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I'm assuming that for some reason you plan on filing married filing separately? If this is true, and you can't get him to agree to allowing you to claim the children then he would win a "tie-breaker" rule per the IRS. If this is the case I would say from a tax perspective (and probably others) that you separate and take the kids. If you can show that you provide more than 50% of their care then you are due the exemptions. This doesn't help this year but it would the next.
In the meantime if this is the situation you are in, and you feel entitled to his refund because he's a parent who contributes nothing to the family and squanders money, that's a matter for a family law attorney, not an accountant. |
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hrblockrichardk
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If you file jointly, then you are both claiming the children on your joint return.
If you file separately and lived together with your husband all year, then in case of disagreement between you and your husband he has the priority right to claim them due to higher income. If you he agrees, then you can claim them instead.
If you file separately and did not live together all year, then in case of disagreement, the priority right to claim then goes to whichever of you lived with the children more during the year (not who earned the most income). The one with the priority right can allow the other one to claim the child in mose cases.
Richard K
HR Block
This advice is based upon my understanding of the law in effect at the time its was written as it applies to the facts supplied by you. See my profile for additional information. |
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hrblockrobyn
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I'm wondering why you aren't filing a joint return if you are
living together. By filing married filing separately you would
probably be paying higher taxes. I realize that there are
non-financial reasons for couples to file separately but it
generally costs you money. Remember also that filing sep-
arately means that quite a few credits/deductions are not
going to be available.
But in answer to your exact question, no it is not true that the
highest wage earner must claim the kids. That is for you to
decide between you. It might be that the highest wage earner
would receive a bigger tax benefit from claiming the kids (not
always true but sometimes if EIC is not involved) but there is
no law requiring that person to claim the kids. |
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