Thanks for mentioning the form! Quick question - is it Form 8832 or did you mean something else? I've been looking online and Form 8832 seems to be related to business entity classification, not childcare expenses. Is there a different form number I should be asking my son's Montessori for?

You're absolutely right, I made a mistake with the form number. I meant to say that you should get documentation from the childcare provider, which is typically reported on Form 2441, not 8832. Most providers will give you a receipt or year-end statement with their tax ID (EIN) and the total amount you paid during the year. Some providers will complete Form W-10 (Dependent Care Provider's Identification and Certification) which gives you their official information for tax purposes. That's what you'll need when completing Form 2441 to claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit. Thanks for catching my error!

Yes! I successfully did this last year. The key is that you must have custody for more than half the nights of the year to claim the Dependent Care Credit, even if your ex claims the child as a dependent due to your agreement. I had to paper file though, because TurboTax kept giving me errors when I tried to enter it this way.

Thanks for explaining! So if I understand correctly, on my tax return I would indicate that I CANNOT be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return (since I provide more than half my own support), and then separately I'd try to claim my brother as my dependent if I meet all those tests you listed?

That's exactly right. You would check the box indicating that no one else can claim you as a dependent on their return. This is different from "claiming yourself as a dependent" which isn't a thing. Then separately, you would list your brother as your dependent if you meet all the qualifying relative tests. Make sure you have documentation showing you provided more than half his support - things like receipts for rent, utilities, food, clothing, medical expenses, etc. This is especially important since claiming siblings is something the IRS sometimes looks at more closely.

You're right! A sibling can be a qualifying child if they're under 19 (or 24 if a student), they lived with you for more than half the year, they didn't provide more than half of their own support, and they meet the other tests. The benefit of qualifying child vs. qualifying relative is that there's no income limit for a qualifying child. So even if OP's brother made more than $4,950, they might still be able to claim him as a dependent under the qualifying child rules.

Wait, really? That would be amazing. Do I have to specifically ask for this program by name when I contact them? And would I qualify even though I had the extension and still missed it?

Yes, you should specifically ask for "First Time Penalty Abatement" when you contact them after filing. Don't rely on them to offer it - many IRS agents won't mention it unless you ask. You would likely still qualify despite missing your extension deadline. The main requirement is having a clean compliance history for the three prior tax years (meaning you filed and paid on time, or had valid extensions and paid by those deadlines). The IRS sees this as a one-time courtesy for otherwise compliant taxpayers.

I'm so sorry about your mom. I was in a similar situation with my father's passing. The IRS does have something called "reasonable cause" for penalty relief. You'll need to attach a letter explaining the circumstances and showing how the death and estate duties prevented you from filing on time. Include any documentation you can (death certificate, executor appointment papers). In my experience, they were actually pretty understanding.

FinCEN's website states that you should receive a confirmation number immediately after submission. They've also indicated they'll send an email confirmation to the address you provided during filing. If you got the confirmation number, you should be good. I'd screenshot or save that somewhere for your records.

I did get confirmation numbers for each filing, but I was hoping there might be some kind of portal where you can log in and verify everything is properly recorded in their system. Guess I'll just hang onto those confirmation numbers as proof I complied with the Corporate Transparency Act reporting requirements while they were active. Thanks for confirming!

Great question. From what I understand, if the CTA is ultimately struck down, there would likely be instructions from the court about what happens to already-submitted data. In similar situations with other agencies, courts have sometimes ordered collected information to be deleted or segregated. But it's not guaranteed.

I didn't know that was an option! Most of the ones I looked at wanted the full payment upfront before even starting. Do you have specific ones you'd recommend that let you pay just for the filing part? I've already filled out all my forms so I'm really just looking for the electronic submission part.

FreeTaxUSA is pretty good for this approach. You can complete your federal return for free, then it's just $15 for the state portion. Some others like TaxAct and TaxSlayer have similar options where the federal basic filing is free and you just pay for state. If you've literally already completed the physical forms with a pen, then using the IRS Free File Fillable Forms mentioned above is your best bet. You'll just need to transfer the information from your paper forms to the electronic versions. There's a bit of duplicate work, but it's free and gives you the e-file benefits.

Certified mail with return receipt is essential too. It's a few extra dollars at the post office but gives you proof of when they received it. I file on paper every year and always use certified mail after having a return "lost" in 2018.