One more time on the exemption deal...

[tuffbrk]

What is the name of your state? NJ

I feel as if I'm going round and round on this topic. 19 yo son works - he earned $12,912. in 2007. I paid his college tuition but am unable to claim it as I'm filing MFS. (Divorce not final til 1/3/08, Ex just moved out 2 wks ago)

So - my understanding is that son can file on his own and can claim the tuition. I'll file as MFS and not claim him, but claim my other child and self.

Mrs Pxxxx (from the IRS Advocacy center) tells me that I should claim both children plus self, in addition to the college tuition, on my return even if I'm filing MFS. I question her as to my ability to do so at which point she tells me that my son can do as he pleases and I still can claim him as I paid for more than 50% of his support.

Is this doublespeak? Did the hair dye finally do its damage? I'm getting dizzy on this topic already. Every time I think I have it right, I'm given diff info....LdiJ, GinnyJ - any thoughts?

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Child)
To meet this test, the child cannot have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.

This test is different from the support test to be a qualifying relative, which is described later. However, to see what is or is not support, see Support Test (To Be a Qualifying Relative), later. If you are not sure whether a child provided more than half of his or her own support, you may find Worksheet 1 helpful.

Scholarships. A scholarship received by a child who is a full-time student is not taken into account in determining whether the child provided more than half of his or her own support.

How to determine if support test is met. You figure whether you have provided more than half of a person's total support by comparing the amount you contributed to that person's support with the entire amount of support that person received from all sources. This includes support the person provided from his or her own funds.

Person's own funds not used for support. A person's own funds are not support unless they are actually spent for support.

To figure if you provided more than half of a person's support, you must first determine the total support provided for that person. Total support includes amounts spent to provide food, lodging, clothing, education, medical and dental care, recreation, transportation, and similar necessities.

Generally, the amount of an item of support is the amount of the expense incurred in providing that item. For lodging, the amount of support is the fair rental value of the lodging.

Expenses that are not directly related to any one member of a household, such as the cost of food for the household, must be divided among the members of the household.

Lodging. If you provide a person with lodging, you are considered to provide support equal to the fair rental value of the room, apartment, house, or other shelter in which the person lives. Fair rental value includes a reasonable allowance for the use of furniture and appliances, and for heat and other utilities that are provided.

Fair rental value defined. This is the amount you could reasonably expect to receive from a stranger for the same kind of lodging. It is used instead of actual expenses such as taxes, interest, depreciation, paint, insurance, utilities, cost of furniture and appliances, etc. In some cases, fair rental value may be equal to the rent paid.

If you provide the total lodging, the amount of support you provide is the fair rental value of the room the person uses, or a share of the fair rental value of the entire dwelling if the person has use of your entire home. If you do not provide the total lodging, the total fair rental value must be divided depending on how much of the total lodging you provide. If you provide only a part and the person supplies the rest, the fair rental value must be divided between both of you according to the amount each provides.

Property. Property provided as support is measured by its fair market value. Fair market value is the price that property would sell for on the open market. It is the price that would be agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being required to act, and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.

Do Not Include in Total Support
The following items are not included in total support.

Federal, state, and local income taxes paid by persons from their own income.

Social security and Medicare taxes paid by persons from their own income.

Life insurance premiums.

Funeral expenses.

Scholarships received by your child if your child is a full-time student.

Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance payments used for the support of the child who receives them.

Look up "Worksheet 1. Worksheet for Determining Support" to see what counts.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NJ

I feel as if I'm going round and round on this topic. 19 yo son works - he earned $12,912. in 2007. I paid his college tuition but am unable to claim it as I'm filing MFS. (Divorce not final til 1/3/08, Ex just moved out 2 wks ago)

So - my understanding is that son can file on his own and can claim the tuition. I'll file as MFS and not claim him, but claim my other child and self.

Mrs Pxxxx (from the IRS Advocacy center) tells me that I should claim both children plus self, in addition to the college tuition, on my return even if I'm filing MFS. I question her as to my ability to do so at which point she tells me that my son can do as he pleases and I still can claim him as I paid for more than 50% of his support.

Is this doublespeak? Did the hair dye finally do its damage? I'm getting dizzy on this topic already. Every time I think I have it right, I'm given diff info....LdiJ, GinnyJ - any thoughts?

Since you are filing MFS, you definitely cannot use the education credits/deductions so Mrs. Pxxxx at the IRS is advising you incorrectly there.

Your son is at an income level where it honestly could go either way as to who is providing more than 50% of his support.

You can use the worksheet as Ginny suggested, and you can also run the number both ways (you claiming him and him claiming himself and taking the education credits) and see how both come out.

 

[tuffbrk]

Ladies - I want to thank both of you for your time. I'm just now getting back to this. I know that I paid more than 50% of my son's support. In order for him to get refunded the taxes he paid from his job, he wants to file on his own. Considering what he's seen me go thru with his Dad and the IRS, I'm proud of him for wanting to do so.

That being said, I'm not sure that if he claims himself, if I can claim him at all. I'll read the link GinnyJ posted and see what it tells me. Mrs. Price really thru me for a loop by saying that he can claim himself and that I could also claim him. However, not being tax code savvy, I thought perhaps I was getting confused between tuition and scholarship/student. Then she said he could do as he wants, and I could still claim him which further confused me as I thought only one person could claim a body as a deduction/exemption (vocab might be off here), so my head was spinning.

I'm thinking I misunderstood her somehow and he claims himself, I claim me and my other son and that's that...