question on newborn tax credits

ok, i have an 8 wk old. her father and i r together but not married. on our taxes would it be better to claim me as a single mother, him claim she and i both or him claim her? i dont quite understand all this and dont know which is the bext method to go about doing. if someone has been there and done
that than please give me advice on how i should go about this

[lhughes]

Your bf cannot "claim" you, it doesn't work that way.  He however can claim the baby IF you do not claim her on yours.  She can only be listed once on a tax return.  Assuming there is not a custody agreement from the courts stating who claims her, it would probably be best for both of you to run the numbers and see who is most beneficial.  But, again, she can only be claimed once.

Are you receiving court ordered child support?  Without more information concerning your situation, it would be hard to determine specifically what to do.  Most of this information would be private, so this forum wouldn't be the best place to do so.

[WhatYouMakeMe]

She is not recieving court ordered shild support cause they are both together.  They aren't living together, but they will be soon.  They haven't been to court at all the baby is only about 8 weeks.

Leigh- If Dennis has worked more then you may want to let him claim her.  Do like Ihughes said and run the numbers.

[spade22]

I would also recommend talking to a CPA and have them file your return.  I did the numbers myself last year, but decided to get the CPA to run over them and I got back over $3000 MORE than I had worked out on my return!  There are lots of little tax breaks, tricks, and ways of manipulating things that only a qualified person knows about.  

[Cheyenne_08]

Ugh....actually, her boyfriend CAN claim her. As long as you claim zero, and your parents or no one else claim you, he can claim both of you!!!! Everyone can only be claimed ONCE...so if you BF claims you and your child as dependants, then he can claim you both.....just talked to H&R Block about this same issue...

[lhughes]

From a tax accountant, the rules to claiming someone...

You can claim your girl/boyfriend as a dependent if s/he lived with you for the entire year, you provided over half their support, and they had $3,300 or less in gross income.  In addition, IRS provides that if the relationship between the two of you is in violation of state or local law, you cannot take the exemption.

[LosingMyMindInGA]

If you were not married, you OR your boyfriend can claim the child BUT unless you meet the rules stated above by lhughes your bf can't claim you and vice versa...as far as who should claim the child, it depends...based on your 2007 wages would either or both of you qualify for the earned income credit?  If so the one who is qualified or the one that would bring the highest credit should claim her.

My H and I divorced last year but are currently working on reconciliation.  We have 3 kids.  Since we BOTH qualify for EIC but you can only claim up to 2 kids for it, he is claiming 2 of them and I am claiming one...that way it maximizes both our returns.  He made a few thousand more than I did last year which means he will get a larger amount for the EIC.  Next year we will have 4 kids (if God willing this pregnancy goes well) and we will each claim 2 kids if we have not remarried.

Now, since you are NOT married, TECHNICALLY the mother is considered the custodial parent UNLESS their is a court order saying otherwise...THIS MEANS that if your b/f claims the child YOU may have to fill out a release of right to exemption form stating that you are giving up YOUR right to claim the child.  The reason being, the custodial parent is the one with the legal right to claim the exemption for the child.  It may or may not work the same way for couples who were never married but it's worth a look into.

[leigh04]

thanks everyone! im 24 this is my first child and so im very confused bout the whole situation. the father and i are very much together just went thru hard times around july and both moved back in with our parents. we r soon to move back in with each other as my "whatumakeme" stated and to be married by the end of the yr. i just
hate seeing these parents spend all the money on themselves for things they really dont need. K'dence's father and i are planning on spending part of the money to get our own place to make her life and ours more stable but we r also going to start up a savings acct for her to help her with whatever she may need later on in life. no he doesnt pay child support but that is bc he has his own diapers, formula, clothes, ect. and
i stay with him and use his things more often than not. but if anyone has
anything else to comment on i would appreciate it and thank u all