Any Cpa's or Tax Preparers Out in Mom Land?

M.,

You can not claim head of household and you can not claim them as dependents. Cathy is right about JB's suggestion regarding paying in October. You can file an extension but you still have to pay what you owe by April 15th or pay the penalties and interest (which is quite high).

Your children are taking advantage of your generosity. I would strongly suggest you start having them contribute - whether you charge them rent or have you help pay the bills as if they were roommates.

Sincerely,
C.

I would have to look this up at home to be sure but you cannot claim your children therefore you are not eligible for EIC.

With no dependents you cannot claim head of household.

I don't always agree with Turbo tax but on this one I do.

Kimberly is right, yet wrong. You can no longer contribute to a 401k for the 2011 tax year but you can open an IRA and contribute up to 5,000 for the 2011 tax year. Just remember it is not dollar to dollar so if your marginal tax rate is 10% and your tax liability is say 400 you would have to contribute 4,000 to make your tax liability 0.

Sounds like you need to get the kids to pony up for what you owe on taxes. Your bills are higher because they live with you - electricity, water, food, etc. Tell them they have to split the cost and pay it for you. Then start charging them rent.

Really and truly.

Dawn

Just to add to the other responses, if you can't pay right now and the amount is a lot, you may be able to file for an extension and delay filing until October, after you've had some time to save. I honestly don't know what's required for an extension but my husband and I have done this three times in the years that we owed and it wasn't a big deal. For you to claim HOH, you need to have at least one qualifying dependent and for one of your children to qualify, he or she would need to be a full-time student. You'll need to change your withholding because you no longer have dependents to claim.

With incomes like those, your children should be contributing to the costs of the household so that it doesn't all fall on you. It's nice to give them a break on things, but they can certainly contribute something in exchange for rent, utilities, and food.

I used to prepare my own taxes before I had investments. I've also been a single mom looking for any and all tax breaks.

You don't get to claim dependents on your kids just because they are dependant on you out of your allowing them to be. :-) They would have to have some mental or physical disability to an extent the IRS says so. .

If your son was full time student at any point in that year, you should check to see if that helps your case.

Just a thought: If you are low income and you have able bodied children that won't go to school full time, it may be time to give them some education on what kind of salary they need to get by in life for real. Perhaps they will change their minds about the need for school or technical training. You are the captin at the wheel here. You might have to try some "tough love" for all your benefits and have them pay rent and part of utilities and groceries if that helps you. If not, if it helps you, they might need to move out.

As to not having to pay your taxes if you delay your Return, not so. They want you to pay what you legitimately think you owe by the usual deadline or there can be fines and fees that mount up quickly. You can ask them about a payoff plan in case there are new rules.

But for now, I'd consider you and your kids pinching your pennies til then and together, coming up with what you owe. Its time for payback from your giving them free room and board.

To avoid this from happening next year, review how many deductions you take on your payroll. I'll bet you didn't change them when your kids became 18 and not full time students. If you own your home, that gives you tax deductions. If you rent, nada. Rents are higher nowdays. Consider being a homeowner if you are not (even if you have to downsize to a condo or townhouse to avoid having to pay all repairs, yardwork, etc. Consider having a side business that makes money so you can take deductions from your related expenses which can also help your domestic side (like paying for the lease payments on the car you must have for a business purpose).

If you are using Turbotax which prompts you to deductions, I presume you took all that you could. If unsure, try a tax service one year and ask abundant questions about whether you missed anything or could create more deductions next year from actions you take now.

Your children should also be filing tax returns...if they get any refunds, they should be contributing it towards your liability. You can't make them but hopefully, they will have the sensibility to do so.

Moving forward, you should work out an equitable way to share the household expenses and responsibilities. They are your children and you love them. However, economically, they are your housemates.

Well if your 22 year old was a full-time student for any 5 month period during the year then you could end up claiming him, but since I'm assuming he wasn't, then that is out. You can only claim working kids who are not full-time students if they are under the age of 19. You can't claim head of household without a qualifying CHILD. In some situations you can claim a child as a qualifying relative (however, your kids don't fit into this category either because they make too much money a year and qualifying relatives have income restrictions), but even if you claimed them as a qualifying relative, you still can't claim HOH because they are no longer considered qualifying children. So there is nothing you can do this year but pay it and change your W-4s for next year to not count them at all.

You can't claim the 19 year old because she isn't in school and makes her own money. You can't claim the 22 year old because she makes her own money as well.

I would recommend you either begin to charge them some form of rent (a good habit for them to establish) and change your W-4 to single and zero exemptions which will increase your chance of getting a refund next year.

You may also consider contributing to a 401K or IRA on your own. You may be able to apply it to last year's return and reduce the amount of money taxable.

Another good side note is you are not required to pay until the April 15th deadline. Keep this in mind so have good time to pull the money together or as much of it as you can.

Per the government, your adult children are not your responsibility to care for any longer since they are now working folks. Show your kids your tax liability and explain to them that as much as you would like to continue giving them a "free ride," it's not really free and you are paying out the nose. Not only are they no longer a tax deduction (which increases your tax liability) but they cost you in terms of groceries, electricity, water, etc. It's time they start paying their fair share. It's also a good idea for them to start figuring out how to live within their means, budget their money, and be responsible for their own cost of living. It's called growing up and it's time you allowed them to do that.