Comments for Tax Help

Comment on Where Can I Find An Accountant To Go Over And Sign A Financial Affidavit In Michigan? by Christopher S

Christopher S — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:23:28 +0000

You could try the link below, which is to the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants. You can enter some basic information, and it will find a CPA in your area that you can contact.
Next best would be to see if you can get a recommendation from a friend.
Barring those, your best bet is going to be to look in the Yellow Pages under Accountants, and choose one.
Best of luck!!

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by Eby

Eby — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:32:57 +0000

Nope. It’s one or the other. You will get a notice from the IRS that one or the other’s tax forms must be changed.

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by speed star

speed star — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:38:24 +0000

no,you can claim only one tax return (either of you) take the suggestion of a good child custody expert,who can suggest you better

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by tro

tro — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:35:18 +0000

no
in the case of divorced or separated parents, the parent the child spends the majority ‘nites’ with claims the exemption
IRS does not split children
if you are eligible to claim the child and choose to allow the father to do so, you must sign #8332 the waiver to allow him and he must file this with his 1040

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by Bash Limpbutt's Oozing Cyst©

Bash Limpbutt's Oozing Cyst© — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:44:05 +0000

Sure! Get married and file a joint return! That’s the ONLY way that two people can claim one child on a tax return.
If the parents are NOT married (or are married but file separately) then only ONE of them can claim the child. You won’t find a form that gives you half of an exemption because there’s no such thing.
Under the law the custodial parent gets the exemption. The law defines the custodial parent as the one that the child spent the most amount of time with throughout the year. Add up the nights in each home of necessary. If the number of nights is equal (such as would be the case of a couple who live together but file as MFS) then either can claim the child. If they can’t agree in advance and both try and claim the child, the IRS will default to the parent with the higher AGI as the tie-breaker.
The custodial parent can surrender the exemption and the Child Tax Credit (but not any other tax benefits such as the EIC) to the non-custodial parent by giving them a completed Form 8332 that the non-custodial parent must attach to their tax return to claim the child.

Comment on Sue An Accountant Who Filed Your Taxes Incorrectly When Penalty Is Involved? by kckid2

kckid2 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:07:26 +0000

Sure. You can sue for negligence, but not the tax. The tax is yours alone, perhaps the accountant didn’t know the rules.

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by the tax lady

the tax lady — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:05:08 +0000

If you are married and living together, no. One child, one exemption and that parent claims everything.
If you are NOT living together (married or not), one parent is the custodial parent. (Custody is based on who has the child the most nights during the year.) That parent can choose to sign a form 8332. The form does not use percentages.
If they do NOT sign the form 8332, the custodial parent keeps the child’s exemption, child tax credit, daycare, EIC (if they file as single or head of household) and eligibility for HOH.
If they DO sign the form, the custodial parent gives up the exemption and child tax credit to the non-custodial parent.
The *one* exception to the above is medical. To ensure a child has coverage, both parents can claim the child to get insurance at work or to claim medical expenses on their tax return.

Comment on Sue An Accountant Who Filed Your Taxes Incorrectly When Penalty Is Involved? by Ira01

Ira01 — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:36:51 +0000

If the accountant made a mistake, then he/she should pay the penalty (but not the back tax, of course, since you owed that from the beginning). In addition, the interest is not a “penalty,” because you have had the use of that money for the last year, when you wouldn’t have if the taxes had been done correctly initially.

Comment on Is There Anyway Two Parents Can Claim One Child On Their Tax Return? by Judy

Judy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 11:14:20 +0000

You were told wrong. If parents file a joint return, they obviously both claim the child, but otherwise, no – only one return can claim any one individual.
Maybe the person is thinking of form 8332, which the custodial parent can give to the other parent to allow them to claim the child – then the custodial parent can’t claim them as a dependent for that year and gets the exemption and the child tax credit. But the custodial parent can still take Head of Household, EIC and the child care credit if they qualify for those – the other parent can’t get any of those based on that child.

Comment on Sue An Accountant Who Filed Your Taxes Incorrectly When Penalty Is Involved? by Jim Kirby, CPA/PFS, CFP, CFS

Jim Kirby, CPA/PFS, CFP, CFS — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:57:24 +0000

Most accountants would want to work this out with you rather than be sued. There are other avenues instead of or in addition to suing such as filing a complaint with the state board of accountancy in your state. The accountant will not want a complaint against him because that information is available to the public. I recommend that you start by asking the accountant to pay the penalty if indeed it is his fault. Have you talked to him or her about doing that? If you try to talk it out and that doesn’t work and you can prove it was his negligence then go ahead and sue him.