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How does claiming my daughter work?

We have a son together and my daughter (his step daughter, hates the word step)

My husband is the only one that has worked all year

we are filing married jointly 

how does claiming my daughter work? Is she just a regular dependent that goes under child tax credit or does she go under Other dependent? 

He contributes to more then half of her expenses 

I am the custodial parent

We have her for more then half the year

she is 7 

I need help with this cant get in contact with IRS to ask( to high call volume)

need to fill out his W4 form asap

also does it make a difference that we got married in June?  

All help is very much appreciated, I am going crazy trying to figure this out 

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1 Best answer

Accepted Solutions

How does claiming my daughter work?

If you file jointly and are the custodial parent then you simply enter the daughter as a dependent.... nothing fancy or special. 

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6 Replies

How does claiming my daughter work?

If you file jointly and are the custodial parent then you simply enter the daughter as a dependent.... nothing fancy or special. 

How does claiming my daughter work?

 

Try these tools to figure the W-4:

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator  

 https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools  

http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster  

 

 

Who can I claim as my dependent?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2018 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

  • They are related to you.
  • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
  • They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
  • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
  • They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
    • No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
  • They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
  • They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

  • They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
  • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
  • They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
  • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
  • They lived with you the entire year.
  • They made less than $4,150 in 2018 ($4,250 in 2019).
  • You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Carl
Level 15

How does claiming my daughter work?

For each dependent you enter, the program will ask you who the parents of that dependent are. The choices are:

 - Both of us

 - Name of the male tax filer as entered on the tax return

 - Name of the female tax filer as entered on the tax return

So this is no big deal and nothing special required.

How does claiming my daughter work?

Thank you!!! 

maglib
Level 10

How does claiming my daughter work?

Only question I would have is does her birth father claim her in case of a divorce or child custody agreement?  

However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) applies. See Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals for more information. This rule requires in part, that both of the following conditions are met:

If the custodial parent releases a claim to exemption for a child, the noncustodial parent may claim the child as a dependent and as a qualifying child for the child tax credit or credit for other dependents. However, generally, the noncustodial parent may not claim head of household filing status or the earned income credit, and the noncustodial parent may not claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, or the health coverage tax credit.

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Carl
Level 15

How does claiming my daughter work?

Only question I would have is does her birth father claim her in case of a divorce or child custody agreement?

The IRS has rules for the dependents of divorced or separated parents. Those rules are based on federal law as established by congress. Only a federal judge can over ride those rules. A lower court judge can not - though many incorrectly think they can. Now, since federal judges do not handle divorce, separation or custody cases I can tell you with 100% certainty that a court order over ride will *never* happen.

The IRS rules for your situation are simple. Basically, the IRS rules state that the child can be claimed as the dependent of the custodial parent.  This is followed by a clear definition of the custodial parent, and the non-custodial parent. Those rules are:

 - The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for more than 182 nights of the tax year. The nights do not have to be consecutive. Temporary absences such as summer camp, hospital stays, attending school, etc count provide the child returns to the same household at the end of the temporary absence.

In the case where the divorce or separation occurred during the tax year, then the custodial parent is the parent with whom the child stayed with the most nights of the tax year.

 - The non-custodial parent is the parent that does not meet the requirements of the custodial parent.

 

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