[Faulkner99]

I just need to vent some of my tax frustration here. The preliminary answer I received was that I would not be able to claim our son as a dependent because he was placed in our home in July, and in order to claim a dependent they must be in your home for 6 months out of the year. I can understand the government's logic; they don't want people claiming dependents for which they actually do not deserve the credit. But in the case of adoption or fostering (and he was a foster placement from July through December), you'd think they'd give you at least a pro rata dependent deduction for those months. In our case, he was in our home for 5 months and a little over a week, just barely shy of the 6 month requirement. If he had been born to me, I'd be eligible for this. HOW UNFAIR! Another way adoptive parents get screwed over.

Also, if I can't claim him as a dependent, I won't be able to take as a credit the very pricey on-site daycare at my job I shelled out a couple grand for in the last couple of months of the year.

Add to that the fact that the adoption won't finalize until Feb. 24th, which means I won't be able to take that adoption credit until I file my 2006 taxes next year.

[mamacrina]

We can't use our adoption credit until 2006, either. We finalize in April. But we did count dd as a dependent on our taxes (e-filing them tomorrow) and she was born in October. We asked for her ATIN number in December and used that instead of an SS#. We aren't allow the EIC for her, but we could count her as a dependent.

Dh is the resident tax guy...I'm just sharing what I know.

[sneezyone]

Originally Posted by Faulkner99

I just need to vent some of my tax frustration here. The preliminary answer I received was that I would not be able to claim our son as a dependent because he was placed in our home in July, and in order to claim a dependent they must be in your home for 6 months out of the year. I can understand the government's logic; they don't want people claiming dependents for which they actually do not deserve the credit. But in the case of adoption or fostering (and he was a foster placement from July through December), you'd think they'd give you at least a pro rata dependent deduction for those months. In our case, he was in our home for 5 months and a little over a week, just barely shy of the 6 month requirement. If he had been born to me, I'd be eligible for this. HOW UNFAIR! Another way adoptive parents get screwed over.

Also, if I can't claim him as a dependent, I won't be able to take as a credit the very pricey on-site daycare at my job I shelled out a couple grand for in the last couple of months of the year.

Add to that the fact that the adoption won't finalize until Feb. 24th, which means I won't be able to take that adoption credit until I file my 2006 taxes next year.

Our dd was born in Oct. of 2004 and we claimed her on our 2004 taxes as a dependent but she was a newborn placement. We also used an ATIN and had no problems at all. I think the rule is no one else can/will claim the child and b) that you provide more than 50% of the child's support for the year. It seems that's where the 6 mos thing is coming from. We had to wait an extra year for the adoption tax credit tho.

[mamacrina]

How old is your child? Was he born last year? Here are the "tests" to see if he qualifies...


In general, to be a taxpayer’s qualifying child, a person must satisfy four tests:

• Relationship — the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (whether by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or stepsibling, or a descendant of one of these.
• Residence — has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and for children who were born or died during the year.
• Age — must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.
• Support — did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year.

[LisaCA]

with whom did you speak? was this the tax guy/gal, or someone else? or did you call the irs (if you called the irs, you might want to call several times adn see what answers you get-they're not always right).

[Faulkner99]

Originally Posted by mamacrina

How old is your child? Was he born last year? Here are the "tests" to see if he qualifies...


In general, to be a taxpayer’s qualifying child, a person must satisfy four tests:

• Relationship — the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (whether by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or stepsibling, or a descendant of one of these.
• Residence — has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and for children who were born or died during the year.
• Age — must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.
• Support — did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year.

That's the problem - he doesn't satisfy the "RESIDENCE" test. He was placed with us on July 22, which is not more than 6 months. Also, if you read the footnote to that for exceptions, he also doesn't fall into any of the exceptions as far as I can tell. Hopefully the accountant will sort it out.

[Faulkner99]

Originally Posted by FH-LisaCA

with whom did you speak? was this the tax guy/gal, or someone else? or did you call the irs (if you called the irs, you might want to call several times adn see what answers you get-they're not always right).

This was my accountant, who is doing some extra research into it. Hopefully, that footnote "Children who were born or died in the year...." will apply.

[LisaCA]

from what i understand, if the child was born last year, then the 6 months thing doesn't apply. am I wrong?

there must be an easier way to do taxes, lol.

[brookeinpa]

Our accountant stated that the 6 month rule only applies if a child was alive for 12 months of the year. If a child was born during the tax year, the 6 months doen't count. Isn't it just crazy how 2 people can look at the same exact tax law and come to different conclusions???

Does anyone know how long it takes to get an ATIN? We sent the paperwork in a week ago, and we're hoping to have our number in time to count our DD for our taxes.

Good luck!
Brooke

[mamacrina]

Lisa...that's my understanding as well. If the child was born last year, you can count them as a dependent.

Brooke-my ATIN came in 3 wks, but that was before the tax season started.

ETA:they say to allow up to 8 weeks.

[nawlinsmom]

I was able to take my tax credit prior to finalizing my son's adoption. I found something on the IRS site that stated I could do that, I will try to find it and post the link.

[Sleeplvr]

This is a different ball of wax because it is a foster to adopt placement. In 2004, foster to adopt placements had to be in your home 12 months to qualify as a dependent. In 2005 the child has to be in your home for 6 months. This is completely different from a newborn placement from a private agency. The only thing I know that you can do it claim your expenses as a charitable deduction because he was a a foster child last year in your home. You will need to divide your mortgage/rent, utilities, and any other household expenses by the number of people in your home and assign him a share for the length of time he was in your home. Then you have to subtract your per diem from that. If the remaining is more that 50% you claim the overage as a charitable deduction. For example, if your per diem was $400 a month and his share of the household expenses were $900 a month you can claim the $500 dollars a month as a deduction.

I hope I'm making some sense. We had to do that last year for two foster kids because they didn't meet the 12 months test at that time. Talk with your DFCS office and they should be able to give you some information to give to your accountant on how to file.

[Sleeplvr]

I forgot to add something about SSN's. Even if he had been in your home for 6 months or more, DFCS would be responsible for getting him a SSN during the time he remains in their custody. You would not be eligible to get him a number until after you finalize. You can't even get a ATIN at this point. A SSN and a AITN won't do you much good since he doesn't meet the residency requirement.

Our little boy is scheduled for TPR next month and DFCS just went to apply for a SSN for him last month. After we finalize we plan on getting a different number for him. I just know the SSA is going to love that but his Bfamily likes to commit fraud and the number DFCS is getting will have his bparents names and information attached. I don't know how long it will be between finalization and adoption so it could give them the time and opportunity to obtain and use his number.