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Sophia Long
One option nobody's mentioned - have you considered having your daughter remain as your dependent for this final year? The test for qualifying child includes support, and if you paid for more than half her support for the year (including that expensive final semester tuition, housing, etc.), you might still be able to claim her. If her job doesn't start until June, and you supported her completely until then, you might still meet the support test for the full year, especially if the tuition amount is significant. You'd need to calculate all support provided versus her income after graduation. This would allow you to claim the LLC since she would still be your dependent.
I hadn't considered that approach! Her tuition for spring was around $15,000 plus I covered about $8,000 in housing and other expenses through May. Her job pays about $60,000 annually, so she'll make roughly $35,000 for the 7 months she works this year. Would the tuition I paid count toward the support calculation?
Sophia Long
ā¢Yes, the tuition you paid absolutely counts as support! The IRS considers support to include tuition, fees, books, supplies, and room and board. So the $15,000 tuition plus the $8,000 in housing and other expenses means you provided $23,000 in support. For your daughter's income, it's not just what she earns but what she actually spends on support items. If she makes $35,000 but saves some of it or spends on non-support items like retirement contributions or entertainment, that doesn't all count as self-support. You'd need to calculate what she actually spends on housing, food, medical expenses, etc. after graduation.
Just want to point out something important regarding the LLC that hasn't been mentioned yet. Unlike the AOTC which is partly refundable, the Lifetime Learning Credit is NON-REFUNDABLE. This means it can reduce your tax liability to zero, but you won't get any excess as a refund. This might affect your decision about who should claim it. If your daughter has a low tax liability in her first partial working year, she might not be able to use the full credit amount. If you have a higher tax liability, you might benefit more if you can legitimately claim her as a dependent.
This is such a good point! My son graduated last year and his tax liability for his first half-year of work was only about $3,000, so he couldn't use the full LLC amount. Would have been better if I could have claimed it since I was in a higher tax bracket.
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This is such a confusing area! My wife's company has a similar setup where they have a partnership with a daycare center in the same office park, but it's not exclusively for employees. When I called my company's benefits hotline (not the IRS), they explained that the question is about facilities that are operated BY the employer primarily FOR employees. If the general public can use it, it's usually not considered "employer-provided on-site childcare" even if they give employees preference or discounts. They also mentioned that the $5k in Box 10 is probably from a Dependent Care FSA, which is already receiving tax benefits and is handled separately from this question.
Sean Murphy
ā¢Does your wife's company give priority enrollment to employees or just a discount? Our company does both and I'm still confused if that counts.
They give both priority enrollment and a discount, but it's still not considered "employer-provided on-site childcare" for tax purposes. The key factor is whether the facility is operated by the employer primarily for their employees. Even with priority enrollment and discounts, if it's open to the public and operated as a separate entity, it doesn't qualify as employer-provided on-site childcare for the tax benefits.
Zara Khan
I had this exact confusion on my taxes last year! What helped me figure it out was looking at the specific wording in IRS Publication 503. It says employer-provided on-site childcare means "services provided by a qualifying childcare facility of the employer." For it to be a "qualifying childcare facility," your employer must actually be operating the facility primarily for employees' children. The fact that anyone can send their kids there (even with your discount) means it's NOT employer-provided on-site childcare for tax purposes. The $5k in Box 10 is almost certainly from a Dependent Care FSA or other benefit program, which is totally separate. So you'd answer "No" to the on-site childcare question.
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Your mom should pull any files for clients who claimed EITC, CTC, AOTC, or HOH status from the last year. Those are the typical targets for due diligence visits. Make sure she has Form 8867 (Paid Preparer's Due Diligence Checklist) for each of those returns with all questions answered. The IRS is checking if she's doing the required verification before claiming these credits.
Dylan Baskin
ā¢That's really helpful - I'll make sure she focuses on those specific credits first. Is there anything else she should have ready besides the Form 8867 and supporting documentation?
She should also have her written due diligence procedures available - even if it's just a basic checklist of what she asks clients and what documents she collects. The IRS wants to see that she has a consistent process. Also have her review her records for any cases where she might have rejected claiming a credit when a client couldn't provide adequate documentation. This shows the IRS she's not just rubber-stamping everything. And remind her that they'll likely ask questions about her knowledge of the eligibility requirements for these credits, so a quick review of the current rules wouldn't hurt.
Liam Cortez
As a preparer who went through this, the best advice is DON'T PANIC! The consequences really depend on what they find. Minor issues usually just mean recommendations. If they find significant failures (like claiming credits without proper documentation), penalties start around $540 per failure. But its usually per category of failure, not per mistake on each return. My visit took about 3 hours total.
Savannah Vin
ā¢Is there a way to know which returns they'll select? My practice got notice of a visit too and I'm freaking out trying to organize everything!
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Emily Parker
I just want to point out that when you're netting capital gains and losses, the ordering DOES matter. The IRS has specific rules: 1. First, you net short-term gains and losses together 2. Then, you net long-term gains and losses together 3. Then, you net the short-term and long-term results together So if your carryover losses are from different categories (short vs long-term), make sure you're applying them correctly. Your tax software should handle this, but if you're doing it manually, be careful.
Ezra Collins
ā¢Does this ordering actually impact your final tax bill? Or is it just an accounting exercise? I'm wondering if I need to worry about this or if the end result is the same regardless.
Emily Parker
ā¢The ordering absolutely impacts your final tax bill. This is because short-term gains (assets held less than a year) are taxed at your ordinary income rate, which can be much higher than the preferential long-term capital gains tax rates. By following the correct ordering rules, you might end up with either short-term or long-term gains remaining, which are taxed at different rates. Ideally, you want your short-term gains fully offset first since they're taxed at the higher rate.
Has anyone tried doing this calculation on TurboTax? I've got a similar situation with about $8K in carried over losses from last year and $11K in gains this year, but TurboTax seems to be applying my losses weirdly. It's only using part of my carryover.
I used TurboTax for this exact situation last year. Make sure you're entering your capital loss carryover from last year correctly - there should be a specific section for entering carryover amounts. If you just enter it as a current year loss, it will process it incorrectly. Also double-check that you properly categorized your carryover as short-term or long-term (or properly split between both if applicable). TurboTax worked fine for me once I entered everything in the right place.
QuantumQuest
Be careful with amended returns! If you're going to amend previous years to claim the LLC, make sure you're 100% certain of your position. The lookback period for audits is typically 3 years, but can be extended to 6 years if the IRS believes you've substantially understated your income. Amending multiple returns could trigger a review.
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Connor Murphy
ā¢Is there a minimum amount that would trigger an audit for amended returns? I'm in a similar situation but only looking at around $400 in potential credits for last year.
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QuantumQuest
ā¢There's no official minimum threshold that guarantees safety from an audit. The IRS doesn't disclose their exact selection criteria. However, smaller amendments are generally less likely to raise red flags than larger ones. For a $400 credit, the risk is relatively lower, but remember that any amended return has a slightly higher chance of review than an original return. The key is ensuring you have proper documentation to support your position if questioned - keep all your tuition statements, proof of payment, and any documentation about your fellowship/tuition reduction status.
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Yara Haddad
I think many of you are confusing different concepts. There's a difference between: 1) Scholarships/fellowships (generally taxable unless used for qualified educational expenses) 2) Qualified tuition reductions (tax-free benefit for employees/grad students performing services) 3) Employer education assistance (up to $5,250 tax-free) The OP specifically has a CS Dept fellowship that was applied directly to tuition. This looks like case #1, not #2. Can't claim LLC on this.
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Keisha Robinson
ā¢How do you determine which category your funding falls into? My stipend paperwork just says "Graduate Assistant Stipend" but doesn't specify if it's for services or just support.
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