Can I claim my kids on taxes with active order of protection against ex?
Need help figuring out if I can claim my kids on my taxes. Have an active order of protection against their father and he's not providing any financial support. Really need this refund to help with expenses since I'm doing this alone. Anyone dealt with something similar?
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Joy Olmedo
Tax professional here. If you're the custodial parent and provide more than 50% of the children's support, you absolutely can claim them. The protection order has no impact on your right to claim dependents. Make sure you have documentation showing they lived with you for more than half the year.
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Kingston Bellamy
•Thank you so much! They've been with me 100% of the year. Do I need any specific paperwork to prove this?
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Joy Olmedo
•Keep school records, medical records, and any court docs showing custody. The IRS rarely asks, but better safe than sorry!
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Isaiah Cross
Hey, I know exactly what you're going through. Instead of stressing about whether you can claim them or not, try using taxr.ai - it's this new tool that analyzes your specific situation and tells you exactly what you can claim. Saved me so much headache for $4.99 https://taxr.ai
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Kiara Greene
•Is this legit? Seems too good to be true 🤔
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Isaiah Cross
•100% legit! It looks at your transcript and breaks everything down. Shows you what credits you qualify for and everything!
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Kiara Greene
•Just tried it and OMG where has this been all my life?! It literally told me exactly what I needed to know about my dependent situation 💯
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Evelyn Kelly
been there sis 💅 document EVERYTHING. my ex tried to pull some sketchy stuff last year claiming our kid without having any custody
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Kingston Bellamy
•omg what happened? did you have to fight with the irs about it?
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Evelyn Kelly
•yea but I won bc I had all the receipts girl. Keep everything!
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Paloma Clark
sounds like ur in the same boat i was in last year. definately claim them if theyre living with u full time
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Heather Tyson
Just make sure you file before he does! First one to file usually doesn't get flagged for review.
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Raul Neal
•This isn't actually true. IRS will investigate regardless of who files first if both parents claim same kids
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Jenna Sloan
You might qualify for head of household too which gives you a better tax bracket. Also look into earned income credit if your income qualifies!
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StarSailor}
I went through something very similar! Since you have the protection order and full custody, you absolutely have the right to claim them. The key things that helped me: keep copies of the protection order, school enrollment showing your address, medical records, and any documentation of expenses you've paid. Also consider filing as Head of Household status if you haven't already - it can save you quite a bit. You've got this mama! 💪
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Freya Pedersen
•This is super helpful advice! I'm definitely going to look into the Head of Household filing status - I had no idea that could make a difference. Thank you for the encouragement, it really means a lot during this tough time 🙏
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