last seen 1 hour 59 min agoHey Lynn;
I have a question and it may be too much. I have joint custody of my 6 year old daughter. The judge named us both custodial parents. Neither parent has more say or more rights. We get her the exact same amount of time. I know the IRS has a hard time accepting this. We swap years claiming her on our taxes. I still paid child care for her for the whole year of 2007. Her mom chose to either have my daughter's maternal grandmother watch her or she watched my daughter herself. 2007 is her mom's year to claim her. I did some reading on whether or not I can claim my child care expenses that were paid only by me. I am using free file through H & R Block linked in from the IRS website. I have everything saved and won't finish for several days as my wife has some more receipts from school coming in from her mom. I read this article: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p503/ar02.html#d0e257
I found it after reading moonshooter's post and following the link you gave her. If you have any insight that would be great. If not I'll try to call the IRS using the number you gave Moonshooter. Thanks in advance.
P
Ok Lynn,
After about one hour I was told that yes I can claim my daughter for child and dependent care expenses. I spoke with Mr. Brumfield 93-0996. He asked all of the qualifying questions and then put me on hold while he researched the subject. When he came back on he said I could claim her.If using form 1040 I have to attach form 2441. If I'm using 1040A I attach schedule 2. It was hard to get him to understand the concept of equal custody. At one point he said I might have to count the exact number of days and all the way down to minutes to see who my daughter stayed with more. My response was that on Wednesdays her mom puts her on the bus and sends her to school. At 5:15 pm I pick her up from school. Who gets to claim that time? That pretty much put an end to that. All in all it wasn't a bad experience calling the IRS. Just time consuming. All of the people I talked to were very nice. I wouldn't hesitate to call again if the need arises. Thanks again for taking a look at this Lynn. I appreciate it.
"I'm just like you only shorter."
Oh wonderful. I'm glad your experience was good, minus the having to wait, but I spent an hour reading myself, (it was good reading). Keeping his name and a written account of the conversation should be kept with your 2007 tax records, (along with date and time of call) just in case something comes up in the future.
Thank you so much p!
If I was standing on a fish, I'd slip and fall......
Keeping his name and a written account of the conversation should be kept with your 2007 tax records, (along with date and time of call) just in case something comes up in the future.
I'm a record keeping fool. I have stuff from forever ago. That record keeping mania is what helped me get equal custody to begin with. But that is a good tip for everyone out there. Always write down who you talked to, when you talked to them, their id number, the phone number you dialed to reach them, and of course everything they tell you.
"I'm just like you only shorter."
Hey P
I was reading through the link you provided (thank you). And then I went on to read the other publications provided for these circumstances.
I was unable to find a clear cut explanation of a simple question.
The explained question being......... I cannot claim my child on my 2007 tax return because I am considered the noncustodial parent, but can I still claim the expenses of child care that only I paid for in 2007?
Child of divorced or separated parents or parents living apart. Even if you cannot claim your child as a dependent, he or she is treated as your qualifying person if:
The child was under age 13 or was physically or mentally not able to care for himself or herself,
The child received over half of his or her support during the calendar year from one or both parents who are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, are separated under a written separation agreement, or lived apart at all times during the last six months of the calendar year,
The child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half the year, and
You were the child's custodial parent (the parent with whom the child lived for the greater part of 2007).
The noncustodial parent cannot treat the child as a qualifying person even if that parent is entitled to claim the child as a dependent under the special rules for a child of divorced or separated parents.
P.......you are the noncustodial parent for 2007 taxes. So now I go to the special rules for a child of divorced or separated parents (Pub 504)
2 See Table 3, later, for the tests that must be met to be a qualifying child. Note. If you are a noncustodial parent, the term “qualifying child” for head of household filing status does not include a child who is your qualifying child for exemption purposes only because of the rules described under Children of Divorced or Separated Parents under Exemptions for Dependents, later. If you are the custodial parent and those rules apply, the child is generally your qualifying child for head of household filing status even though the child is not a qualifying child for whom you can claim an exemption.
P........And I realized the above statement was pre-1984 agreements. Then this statement came next:
If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the special rule for divorced or separated parents described earlier, see Applying this special test under the special rule for divorced or separated parents , later.
If you and another person have the same qualifying child, you and the other person(s) can decide which of you will treat the child as a qualifying child. That person can take all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eligible for each benefit) based on the qualifying child.
The exemption for the child.
The child tax credits.
Head of household filing status.
The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
The exclusion from income for dependent care benefits.
The earned income credit.
The other person cannot take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person cannot agree to divide these tax benefits between you.
P....important part highlighted above.
Have I found an answer? No, not in my mind. (What I have read tells me no, you cannot, unless it could be considered as work related expenses, but work related expenses referred to spouses). So, it aggravates me a bit because it's a simple question...or at least I think it is. And I would also think that you could claim it, but not claim the dependent deduction or child credit. All you want to do is claim the day care expense, which means you also have to provide the name and TIN for the person you paid to watch your child.
Here comes the part you already anticipated, I'm going to ask you to call them. I am curious if they can give you a simple yes or no answer to your question, or if they start the 20 questions. Will you let me know? Because there is a simple yes or no answer depending on the if's, if any.
The least I can do is provide you the number so you don't have to look it up. 1-800-829-1040.
Lynn
If I was standing on a fish, I'd slip and fall......
I found the answers to be vague as well. My situation is unique in that I'm a dad that was granted my full rights. The judge said that she would not give us equal time and then turn around say that one parent is more equal so she made us both custodial parents. I will call the IRS and I will post back what they say. Thanks for taking a look. I appreciate it. Plus it tells me there is good reason why I was so confused.
"I'm just like you only shorter."
I so love that you are going to post back! The rules have so many amendments and what-if scenario's, that having an accountant really pays for itself,
or
being willing to call the IRS for a direct answer. Thank you!
If I was standing on a fish, I'd slip and fall......