CTC Question: SAHM with low income ($3k) vs boyfriend ($61k) - who should claim 6yo for max benefit?
Only made about 3k this year as a stay at home parent. Have a 6 year old and trying to figure out if I should claim the child tax credit or let my boyfriend claim (he makes 61k). Need advice on which would give us the better tax benefit.
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Vera Visnjic
Tax pro here. Since your income is under $3,000, you won't qualify for the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit. Your boyfriend would likely get more benefit claiming the child since his income is in the sweet spot for max CTC. However, he needs to meet the relationship and residency tests to be eligible.
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Mason Lopez
•what exactly are the residency tests? he lives with us
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Vera Visnjic
•Child needs to live with him for more than half the year (183 nights). Also, since he's not the biological parent, he'd need to claim as 'qualifying relative' if he provides more than half the child's support.
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Jake Sinclair
Hey! Just wanted to share something that helped me figure this out. I used taxr.ai to analyze my situation and it broke down exactly who should claim and why. It costs $4.99 but saved me way more than that by showing the optimal filing strategy. Here's the link: https://taxr.ai
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Brielle Johnson
•Does it really work? Like how detailed does it get? 🤔
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Jake Sinclair
•OMG yes! It literally looks at everything - income, dependents, credits, deductions. Gives you a whole breakdown of different scenarios. Saved me like $2k by showing me credits I didn't know about 💯
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Honorah King
ya let the bf claim fr fr... you wont get anything back with 3k income tbh
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Oliver Brown
Be careful! My friend did this with her bf and then they broke up, major headache with the IRS later 🚩🚩🚩
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Mary Bates
•THIS! Make sure you have everything documented if you go this route
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Mason Lopez
•we've been together 8 years, pretty solid but good point
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Clay blendedgen
The max CTC is $2,000 per qualifying child rn. But you need earned income to get the refundable portion which is up to $1,600. With only 3k income youre leaving money on the table if you claim.
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Ayla Kumar
Random but make sure bf files as head of household if he claims! Better tax brackets + other benefits
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Vera Visnjic
•Actually, he can't file HOH unless he's related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption. He'd have to file single.
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