Itsy
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- Joined
- Dec 14, 2009
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But Casey was not a student under 24 like your son. So she could not qualify that way.
My first post :blushing:
IRS rules state that you can indeed claim a child over the age of 18 if they do not work, live with you & you provide over 1/2 of their support. Since KC lived at home and we know she didn't work, C&G could have claimed both her and Caylee as dependents. And, also according to IRS rules, if the child lives with others beside the parent, the person(s) who make the most money in the household is supposed to claim the child. Knowing what they now know about KC not working, they could amend prior returns back to 2006. However.....
I do wonder if KC "farmed out" Caylee to someone else. It is very common for women that do not work to do this, although it is illegal. The mom allows a friend to claim the child, the friend gets a big refund (depending on that person's income & withholding, it could total over $5000+ !), then gives part of the refund to the mom as a sort of kickback. The IRS is really cracking down on people that claim children other than their own and making them prove the child lived with them, but people still get away with it. Every year the questions we have to ask clients who claim children other than their own grows longer & longer. Clients have to sign statements we keep in their file to back up what they tell us, and to cover our butts to prove we asked the correct questions...
ETA: IF C&G amend their returns to include Caylee, AND if someone else did indeed claim her as a "favor" to KC, that person will be in trouble big time for filing a fraudulent return & will have to pay back the original tax advantage filing Caylee provided them, plus penalties & interest from 4/15 of tax year(s) filed.