I want to file single next year. I understand the criteria to still receive the child tax credit you and your spouse have to be divorced. My spouse is not my child's biological father. I have full custody of my child and lives with me year-round. Would I still qualify for the credit?
You'll need to sign in or create an account to connect with an expert.
If you didn’t live with your spouse any time during the last 6 months of the year and you are the custodial parent you can file as Head of Household and get all of the tax credits if otherwise qualified. If you are married you can’t file as single in any case.
My apologies! I did not clarify that very well. My W4 status will be single but my filing status will be married filing separately. So the spouse requirement would include being married to the step-parent?
Looks like you can get the Child Tax Credit filing MFS.
May I ask why you want to file Married filing Separate? Unless you have a specific reason to file separate returns, It is usually better to file Joint. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction. And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out. See,
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/married-filing-separately-in-community-property-state...
Here's some things to consider about filing separately……
In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns. And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.
Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong. If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!
And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the
EITC Earned Income Tax Credit
Child Care Credit
Educational Deductions and Credits
And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.
I am enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. If I file separately, they will only consider my income when calculating payments, which will keep them substantially lower.
The status that you select on your W-4 is only for determining how much tax is withheld from your pay. It does not affect your tax return or whether you can claim the child tax credit. The filing status on your tax return does not have to be the same as the filing status on your W-4.
I don't know what "spouse requirement" you are referring to for the child tax credit. You do not have to be married to claim the credit. If you are married, your spouse does not have to be the child's parent. You can still get the child tax credit if you file as married filing separately.
Thank you! That's where I was unsure. It sounds like if I'm filing separately, that should not affect the tax credit status. I will need to adjust my W4 because I definitely didn't have enough taxes taken out to file separately this year. I just got confused with my verbiage lol.
Why not file Head of Household?
@arclark77 wrote:
Thank you! That's where I was unsure. It sounds like if I'm filing separately, that should not affect the tax credit status. I will need to adjust my W4 because I definitely didn't have enough taxes taken out to file separately this year. I just got confused with my verbiage lol.
I don't understand this whole question or even some of the answers...
Let's start with some basics.
1. Your W-4 is only used to calculate your withholding so you come close to what you owe (not too much or too little taken out of your pay.) The W-4 has nothing to do with how you file your actual tax return.
2. To claim the child tax credit, you must have income earned from working, and you must have a qualifying child dependent under age 17. There is no requirement that you be single, married or divorced, and no requirement as far as filing MFS, MFJ, HOH or anything else. However, if there is more than one person who could claim your child as a dependent, you must be the person who actually claims your child, and if more than one person claims the same child, the IRS will apply the tiebreaker rules to determine who is allowed to claim the child and the credit.
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit
3. A step-parent has the same legal right to claim a child as a dependent as the biological parents, even if the stepparent does not formally adopt the child. So in your situation, if you are married to someone who is not the biological parent, there are at least 3 people who could potentially claim the child as a dependent--mom, stepdad, and bio-dad. They are all the same under the tax laws. Who actually can claim the child depends on where the child lives, and other rules described in publication 501.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf
4. If the child lives in your home (with you and your spouse) more than half the nights of the year, then you and your spouse can claim the child and the other parent cannot, unless you sign a waiver and give it to the other parent.
5. If you choose to file as MFS, then either you or your spouse could claim your child as a dependent. Whether it makes a financial difference depends on your overall situation, and no one can tell you for sure. You would have to test things both ways.
6. Filing separately may increase your tax (and deny certain other tax benefits) more than the savings in loan payments. Also, under the current tax law, loans forgiven in 2026 or later are treated as taxable income on your tax return for the year the balance is forgiven. The law may change, but that's the current situation. Also, meeting all the requirements to prove your are entitled to PSLF can be challenging, and at least in the early days of the program, the percentage of claimants who were granted forgiveness was very low. It's a complicated and always-changing tax situation, and you would need to speak with a financial advisor who is expert in this, to determine if the tax cost of lowering your payments is worth the eventual benefit. It's not right for everyone.
Ah, I missed that they are living together. Thanks
Still have questions?
Make a postAsk questions and learn more about your taxes and finances.
kojetinkel
New Member
3686707
Level 2
morg2019
Level 3
erin-dexter-gmai
New Member
tuxedorose
Level 4
Did the information on this page answer your question?
You have clicked a link to a site outside of the TurboTax Community. By clicking "Continue", you will leave the Community and be taken to that site instead.