claiming kids on tax return

[GREEN/TRAN 0]

has anyone ever claim kids on income taxes before they got there aos or ssc?on another forum some one said i need to get a form from irs but if they weren't permanent residents yet i couldnt claim them.

[Melrose Plant 1]

I happen to know a fellow who had this same problem, only ALL his kids are USCs. Most of them were born at home and neither of them bothered to do the proper paperwork for a birth certificate. The answer to your question is, in this day and age you've GOT to have those Social Security Numbers. When we were growing up, you didn't have to, but now you've got to have one for a newborn baby if you want to claim him.

Upon further thought, if you can't get SSNs for the kids by April 15th, you could either file for an extension OR amend the return after the fact. Usual disclaimer: I am not really a qualified tax adviser, and certainly not for your particular state (for the state return) in any case.

Edited January 2, 2009 by Melrose Plant

[happywifeymom 4]

I happen to know a fellow who had this same problem, only ALL his kids are USCs. Most of them were born at home and neither of them bothered to do the proper paperwork for a birth certificate. The answer to your question is, in this day and age you've GOT to have those Social Security Numbers. When we were growing up, you didn't have to, but now you've got to have one for a newborn baby if you want to claim him.

yes you are right. My 5 months old son was born in the Philippines and as soon as we got back here I had to get his SSN card.He's got one now.

[rin and john 71]

has anyone ever claim kids on income taxes before they got there aos or ssc?on another forum some one said i need to get a form from irs but if they weren't permanent residents yet i couldnt claim them.

If you are married by the end of 2008, then the foreign spouse can elect to be treated as a "resident alien" for tax purposes when filing 2008 (Rin did this for 2006 even though she had not yet set foot in the USA). By declaring as a "resident alien" you have to include foreign income.

Children can be claimed as dependents if they meet certain guidelines. The simplest is if they have resided in the USA for six months in 2008.

There are other options and the IRS helpline was not very helpful when I called them. Rin's children arrived in the USA in October 2007. So they did not live in the USA for six months last year. However, the IRS considers children to reside with their parents if they are attending school elsewhere. As Rin's children were enrolled in school in Thailand and finished the term prior to coming to the USA, that was a sufficient argument. Additionally, for an alien to be treated as a resident alien, they must accrue a certain number of days in the USA. For Rin's children, by arriving in 2007 and being present for over 186 days in 2008, they are able to elect to be treated as resident aliens for 2007 (the first year election rule). To accomplish this, we had to wait until after July 1st to file taxes. So we really had two arguments (had we been audited - we weren't). Read publication 519 at www.irs.gov for more information. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf

With regards to the IRS helpline, the lady I spoke with told me I could not claim Rin's children because they had not been here six months. When I explained the reasoning (both absence to attend school and the substantial presence in a subsequent year), she somewhat agreed with me and said I should try and they would let me know if it was acceptable (#######?). We filed in September and got the refund in October. No problems.

John

p.s. if the children are ineligible for SSNs as of tax filing, then an ITIN (tax identification number) can be obtained. I recommend postponing tax filing (can get an extension for six months) until SSNs are received as it may impact tax rebates (it did this year).

Edited January 6, 2009 by rin and john