$5k Child Tax Credit???

[habitatguy187]

When I got to work today the guys were talking about a 5k tax credit they saw on the news last night, for 2009 only. Anyone know anything about this? I googled it but didn't come up with anything.

Also we had our first child in October of '09, anyone know if will we be able to claim her on our taxes since she didn't live with us for 6 months or more in '09?

 

[spooling 1g]

Not sure about the tax credit,but we had our daughter in november and we claimed her for that year.

 

[beating4g63s]

I recently heard on the news they were trying to give people a tax credit for dogs and cats, have no clue if it went threw or not but man would I love to claim my dog like I'm claiming my kid, I also had a kid on october 27th and I'm claiming him.

 

[tunethis]

When I got to work today the guys were talking about a 5k tax credit they saw on the news last night, for 2009 only. Anyone know anything about this? I googled it but didn't come up with anything.

Also we had our first child in October of '09, anyone know if will we be able to claim her on our taxes since she didn't live with us for 6 months or more in '09?

I haven't heard about a 5k credit or found anything about it but, you should be able to call a tax professional to get any information on it.

Also, if no one else is claiming her, you will be able to.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Yes, you can claim her. Even if she is born on December 31st, 2009. You can still claim her.

As for the child tax credit, you get $1,000 per qualifying child. There were no changes made for 2009 for this credit, except for the reduced limits on earned income to claim the refundable portion of the credit.

Fyi, I am a tax preparer.

Edit.. After thinking a little deeper, he may have been including the personal exemption you get as well when claiming your child/dependent. The personal exemption is $3,650. So $3,650(personal exemption) + $1,000 (child tax credit) = $4,650 total.

 

[Benshooter]

Looks like I need to work on forging a birth certificate...

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Yes sir, that's how you get the big bucks back from the Department of Treasury. With every dependent the standards raise in other areas, such as Earned Income Credit.

 

[wickedz]

or you can do like I did. I have 3 kids, and my gf claims 1 and I claim the other 2. She got back this year 4600 and Im getting 7065.

 

[the_mork]

There is some talk about doubling the child tax credit. Is that what perhaps was being thrown around?

FOXNews.com - Obama Outlines New Proposals Aimed at Lifting Middle Class

 

[GSXSixteenG]

There is some talk about doubling the child tax credit. Is that what perhaps was being thrown around?

FOXNews.com - Obama Outlines New Proposals Aimed at Lifting Middle Class

The only thing this is going to yield is more lower income families having kids.

Were having enough trouble with healthcare, homeless, and mentally ill right now.

 

[the_mork]

I agree at this point that "helping the middle class" doesn't help very much. I especially reject the idea of special situation tax breaks. If you're going to give it to someone then it should go to everyone. What I would really like to see is some sort of tax break that goes to small and medium businesses because helping businesses helps families far more than helping families directly IMO.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

I agree at this point that "helping the middle class" doesn't help very much. I especially reject the idea of special situation tax breaks. If you're going to give it to someone then it should go to everyone. What I would really like to see is some sort of tax break that goes to small and medium businesses because helping businesses helps families far more than helping families directly IMO.

I agree with helping small/medium sized business. You don't live in NYS, but they are going to pass a bill allowing supermarkets to carry wine and spirits. This is going to kill all the mom and pop liquor and wine stores in New York. They only care about the small fee for the liquor license rather than all the people losing jobs. In reality, they are losing the sales tax on all those transactions at the mom and pop stores. That's if they report it all there sales. More convenient for consumers....yes, increase in umployment....better believe it.

I could rant all day about this stuff because I do taxes all day everyday.

 

[joe sobo]

i do not know who is doing your taxes, but if they told you that you can claim a kid that was born after june 1 of 2009, that you can claim them????????????????? you may be able to write it on there, but you will not get any of the earned income tax credit (eitc).so you will be getting less that you were thinking. the child would have had to have been born and living with you for more than 6 months. and some of you said that you claimed a child that was born in november, another said december.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

, no. There are exception for children born during the tax year. If your referring to the question that "Has the child lived with you for atleast half the tax year?"

You should hire a tax accountant.

Google it and you will find your answer. I guess I see why there is a lot of misinformation on the intraweb.

 

[Mitsu RacerX]

To claim dependency tax exemptions for any child on your tax return, the child must have a Social Security or taxpayer identification number. A taxpayer identification number can be obtained by filing Form SS-5 with your local Social Security Administration office. An original birth certificate and one other document certifying the child's identity must be provided. It takes approximately two weeks to receive a Social Security or taxpayer identification number.


So yes you can claim them if they have a S.S. number.
(My wife is a (part-time)manager at Jackson Hewitt and also works at a CPA firm as a Tax Accountant..)

 

[97gst_spyder]

I got $3k back for my 2 month old baby boy... I was shocked when I saw that on Turbotax. I was happy with that!

 

[Chuck_3]

Haven't done my taxes yet, but we just had our baby girl in November. Had no idea you could get that much. Awesome!

 

[badabing33a]

In order to claim a child, does the child have to live with the parent claiming her?

 

[GSXSixteenG]

In order to claim a child, does the child have to live with the parent claiming her?

No, but you have to have consent from the other person to claim the dependent and know that the other isn't claiming the dependent on their tax return. From what I remember from your other threads, if your girlfriend and you both claimed her, the person the dependent lived with more would get her.

 

[beating4g63s]

does anyone know if I can claim my fiance, she didn't work at all in 2009, and I supported her the entire year shes considered disabled.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Yes you can, if she lived with you for the entire year, and you paid more than half her support. You can take her as a dependent on line 6c, and your filing status is single though.

Edit x2... well the single and head of household thing can be debated. Its tough decipher, I've looked it up in 3 different IRS books we have at my office and it seems you can claim head of household. But if you go online it seems to say you can't claim head of household and your filing status would be single. Myself (CPA), another (CPA), and another former IRS employee have been thinking about it all morning.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

In order to claim a child, does the child have to live with the parent claiming her?

Yes. In order to LEGALLY claim a child you must have had parental control for more than 6 months of the tax year you are claiming him/her.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Yes. In order to LEGALLY claim a child you must have had parental control for more than 6 months of the tax year you are claiming him/her.

Not necessarily, for instance in divorce cases. During the divorce decree, one person will pay child support and the other gets to claim the kids on their taxes or sometimes they alternate year to year for who can claim the kids. You have to have consent from the other party (best in writing), in order to claim a qualifying child or qualifying relative that doesn't live with you.