Child Support, Injured Spouse, and a Dependent

[SweetieJean]

@xmasbaby0 is correct.

[friedathomas]

 Under state community property laws, 50% of a joint overpayment (except the earned income credit) is applied to non-federal tax debts such as child or spousal support, student loans, state unemployment compensation debts, or state income tax.
What exactly does this mean?

[jessejames2388]

@friedathomas I am wondering the same thing can't find any information on that.  

[S09477803]

I am in this situation, did anyone figure out the best way to do this? 

[BarbaraW22]

When you are married and have a child, it is usually better to file "married filing jointly." This is because some tax credits are not available when you file "married filing separately." Two credits that are not available when you file as "married filing separate" are the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Credit. Depending on your tax situation, there may be additional tax credits available to you.

If your spouse owes child support, filing the injured spouse form will generally allow you to get at least your portion of the refund. Please see this TurboTax Article for more information.

Please follow these steps to complete the injured spouse form:

1. Log into TurboTax and click on any topic to continue
2. Click on "Other Tax Situations" at the top, scroll down to "Other Tax Forms" and click on "Show More"
3. Click on "Start" or "Revisit" to the right of "Report an injured or innocent spouse claim" and then click "Yes"
4. Carefully answer the questions
5. Leave Innocent Spouse questions blank and answer only questions related to Injured Spouse

Please see this TurboTax Help Article for instructions.

@S09477803

[S09477803]

What about my child’s tax credit will I get this on mine?

[ThomasM125]

Normally, you should file married-joint. This is especially true if you get an earned income credit, because you are't allowed that if you file married-separate.

You can claim the child as yours for injured spouse purposes.You will be asked who wants to claim the child in TurboTax when you go through the injured spouse section in the program.