Getting married, what happens to taxes?

Question

My sister is marrying an army man, and they want to keep it a secret because no one agrees with it, they are just going to go to the court house and do it that way. She is going to keep her same name and address but my question is, my dad currently claims her on his taxes, and after she goes to the court house can it still stay that way?

Answer 1

She would have to meet these requirements:

    * Relationship — the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (whether by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or stepsibling, or a descendant of one of these.

check.

    

* Residence — has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and for children who were born or died during the year.

Sounds like this is "NO" in her case.

    * Age — must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.

Is she under 19?  Or if she's under 24, is she a student?  if not - then NO

    * Support — did not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year.

You don't say who provides her support...

Additional Rules

While the four qualifying child tests generally apply for the five tax benefits noted above, there are some additions or variations for particular provisions:

    Dependent — a qualifying child must also meet these tests:

        * Nationality — be a U.S. citizen or national, or a resident of the U.S., Canada or Mexico. There is an exception for certain adopted children.

        * Marital status — if married, did not file a joint return for that year, unless the return is filed only as a claim for refund and no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they had filed separate returns.

It sure sounds like your dad will not be able to claim her.

  

Answer 2

In most cases no, he will no longer be able to claim her as a dependent.  If she files a joint return with her husband his dependency exemption claim will be disallowed by the IRS.  The IRS won't provide any specifics, other than to say that her SSN was listed on 2 tax returns.  They'll both have to provide evidence of their claims and her marriage license will trump anything that her parents can provide as proof and the IRS will then disallow the parents' claim.  They won't explain why, only that their proof was insufficient to back their claim.  If the family knows about their relationship it won't take a PhD in astrophysics (rocket science) to figure out what happened though.

If she has less than $3,500 in gross income AND they file as Married Filing Separately then the father MIGHT be able to claim her as a dependent, however this will almost certainly result in a much higher tax bill for her husband.  For example, if his total taxable income is $25k, he'll pay over $2,000 in Federal income taxes filing MFS but about $750 filing MFJ.  That's just plain stupid, IMHO.

The bottom line is that they're both adults and need to start acting as such.  Hiding a marriage from family and not living together as husband and wife is NOT the way to start out on their life together.  By attempting to hide it they are kowtowing to the desires of others, not doing what is right for THEMSELVES.  Tough Twinkies if Mom and Dad don't like it; it's time to get a spine and stand tall.

Answer 3

If they do not file a joint return, and she doesn't provide over half of her own support, then your dad can claim her.

One thing though - if they are old enough and mature enough to get married, they are old enough and mature enough to tell their families.

Good luck to all involved,