Does anyone know if it is better to do my own taxes or to let my BF claim me?

[amyrose2712]

I have a very small income from a few weeks of unemployment and a short part time job. I discovered that he can claim me. Will it make a difference? Does that depend on his tax bracket or whatever? I wonder if we will get the same amount either way? If this is an inapproritate question for this group I apologize. Thanks.

[Scuba]

1. Does Newt want to claim you? What did Calista say?

[amyrose2712]

2. EW. WTF?Don't make me friggin puke.

[elleng]

3. Dunno, but you may want to post at Personsl Finance and Investing.

Those guys know a lot.

[amyrose2712]

4. That is where it says I posted this.

[elleng]

5. Darn, MY bad!

Thought it was elsewhere!

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. If by "Claim Me" you mean that your BF can claim you as a dependant....

then probably not.

There are specific rules and tests to determine whether or not you are a "dependent", either a child or a relative.

See IRS Publication 501 for specific rules and clarification;

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html

If you had income you made yourself by working at a job that paid you wages and withheld taxes and you received a W-2 and you DO NOT or ARE NOT ELIGIBLE to file as "Married, filing jointly" then yes, you should file a tax return, regardless of how much the income was. You might be due a refund and if you don't file, you won't get it.

[amyrose2712]

7. Thanks for your response. But, what I am wondering is this...

I am due a small refund, however H&R Block said he could claim me. We pretty much share money(not that I have any) but I was wondering if that would help him if he did claim me. He usually gets a refund too. Thanks again.

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. Again, if you mean claim you as a dependent, unless you fall into one of the two categories.......

being either a dependent child or a qualifying relative, then he can not.

BUT....as I read portions of the publication I linked above, he may indeed be able to. I certainly don't want to second guess the H&R Block preparer though.

Open the link I gave above, look down to the heading "Exemptions for Dependents" and read the entire section carefully.

I know it is boring reading, but that is the info from the horses mouth, so to speak.

As far as whether or not it would help him, the answer is yes, it would reduce his adjusted gross income, possibly by as much as $5800. The lower the AGI, the lower the tax owed.

[SheilaT]

9. My first thought was

that you needed to be married or a child to be the other person's exemption. Then I remembered that a decade or so ago, when my brother lived with me and was not working, I was able to claim him as a dependent.

I think the rule is that you're providing most of the other person's support. Don't know if you actually have to live together, even though my brother did live with me. Actually, now that I think about it, I believe I was claiming him during the two years I was paying his rent and buying his groceries and he was not working.

The tax bracket probably is absolutely not an issue. No matter what tax bracket a person is, legal exemptions and deductions are still there.

You might want to double check with a different tax preparer, although H&R Block is probably quite reliable for this sort of thing.