I am in hot water need advice

[Krucifikkz]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Okay so this tax season came around and I was doing an e-file. I talked to someone online who helped me figure out what to do in my situation when filing. This year I was told to file HOH.

I did and now my school wants me to get a tax professional or the IRS to state that my filing status is correct because my FASFA says I got married in 2007. I am so confused because even the walk through on TaxAct recommended that I file HOH.

The guy who answered me before was not a tax professional. He just knows a bit about taxes. He has not certification. He just said it was due to my husband not living with me during the last 6 months of the year of 2010 and because I had 2 kids, had a job, no child support, etc.

Now I don't know what to do and I have no money to go to a tax pro to ask them to state that my filing status was indeed legit. Now my husband has returned to the household so I have no evidence...he was crashing with a friend whie we sorted things out but he had no income.

Now I can either drop out of school and say good bye to that so that I don't have to hassle with finding a tax pro or I can go to jail because obviously I filed incorrectly.

 

[BOR_]

You can always call the IRS and ask them if, for your situation, that HOH is appropriate.

You need not identify yourself.

Or go see an actual accountant.

Tax laws are the 2nd most prolific ones ; only the EPA beats them in this regard.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Here are criteria for married persons to file as HOH. From this IRS publication. If you meet the criteria, you should only need to forward the info to your school, along with a copy of the IRS publication. If this does not satisfy them, PM me. I may be able to get you an Ohio tax professional, to add a letter certifying your contention, for free.

Publication 501 (2010), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

Considered Unmarried

To qualify for head of household status, you must be either unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. You are considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year if you meet all the following tests.

You file a separate return (defined earlier under Joint Return After Separate Returns ).

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year.

Your spouse did not live in your home during the last 6 months of the tax year. Your spouse is considered to live in your home even if he or she is temporarily absent due to special circumstances. See Temporary absences , later.

Your home was the main home of your child, stepchild, or foster child for more than half the year. (See Home of qualifying person , later, for rules applying to a child's birth, death, or temporary absence during the year.)

You must be able to claim an exemption for the child. However, you meet this test if you cannot claim the exemption only because the noncustodial parent can claim the child using the rules described later in Children of divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart under Qualifying Child or in Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents or Parents Who Live Apart under Qualifying Relative. The general rules for claiming an exemption for a dependent are explained later under Exemptions for Dependents .

 

[davew128]

You can always call the IRS and ask them if, for your situation

And in the likely event OP gets the wrong answer either due to the agent's response or the incorrect information given to the agent, what then?

 

[Krucifikkz]

If I fax that article to the school and they don't accept it come back?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

That is not an article. The link is to the Internal Revenue Service website, Publication 501, HOH filing status criteria.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Okay so this tax season came around and I was doing an e-file. I talked to someone online who helped me figure out what to do in my situation when filing. This year I was told to file HOH.

I did and now my school wants me to get a tax professional or the IRS to state that my filing status is correct because my FASFA says I got married in 2007. I am so confused because even the walk through on TaxAct recommended that I file HOH.

The guy who answered me before was not a tax professional. He just knows a bit about taxes. He has not certification. He just said it was due to my husband not living with me during the last 6 months of the year of 2010 and because I had 2 kids, had a job, no child support, etc.

Now I don't know what to do and I have no money to go to a tax pro to ask them to state that my filing status was indeed legit. Now my husband has returned to the household so I have no evidence...he was crashing with a friend whie we sorted things out but he had no income.

Now I can either drop out of school and say good bye to that so that I don't have to hassle with finding a tax pro or I can go to jail because obviously I filed incorrectly.

Your best bet would be to amend your return to include your husband as a joint filer. That is perfectly legit for IRS purposes, and will solve your school problem as well. If your husband had no income that might even result in a little more refund, and if your husband only had unemployment compensation it might not result in any additional tax due.

 

[dmcc10880]

If you meet the criteria that OHRoadwarrior posted from the IRS pub. then you have nothing to worry about. If you do not, I would suggest amending your return.

 

[LdiJ]

If you meet the criteria that OHRoadwarrior posted from the IRS pub. then you have nothing to worry about. If you do not, I would suggest amending your return.

Here is the problem. Her school is not accepting that she meets the criteria. They want an outside agency to certify that she meets the criteria and no one will (not a tax professional either) because she states that she has no proof.

Therefore, her best bet is to amend the return. That is legal, it will not significantly harm her (and may indeed give her a bigger refund), it will eliminate any possible problem with the IRS, and it will satisfy the school.

I have been a tax professional for more than 25 years and I do it year round, not just during the tax season. I do know what I am talking about.

 

[dmcc10880]

Here is the problem. Her school is not accepting that she meets the criteria. They want an outside agency to certify that she meets the criteria and no one will (not a tax professional either) because she states that she has no proof.

Therefore, her best bet is to amend the return. That is legal, it will not significantly harm her (and may indeed give her a bigger refund), it will eliminate any possible problem with the IRS, and it will satisfy the school.

I have been a tax professional for more than 25 years and I do it year round, not just during the tax season. I do know what I am talking about.

I have no reason to doubt you or your credentials. What outside agency can certify the criteria? The IRS? How will you get them to send a letter to certify?

Perhaps the OP should run the numbers as MFJ or HOH and determine which would be best. If it's HOH, then she needs to come up with some proof and/or act accordingly.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Her posting did not say that the school wanted her circumstances certified. From what she posted, they wanted confirmation that under her circumstances, filing HOH was legal. A tax professional can confirm if her circumstance meet the requirements of IRS Publication 501, she is legally permitted to claim HOH status, even though she was married. The school can't logically put a burden higher than the IRS puts on an individual. All an IRS letter or tax professional would be held to, is the standard that under a given set of circumstances presented, it was legal to do this. When you prepare a tax return LdiJ, are you required to follow each taxpayer around for the entire year, tracking every move, to make sure they fall within the guidelines of the info they present to you for return preparation?

 

[dmcc10880]

Her posting did not say that the school wanted her circumstances certified. From what she posted, they wanted confirmation that under her circumstances, filing HOH was legal. A tax professional can confirm if her circumstance meet the requirements of IRS Publication 501, she is legally permitted to claim HOH status, even though she was married. The school can't logically put a burden higher than the IRS puts on an individual. All an IRS letter or tax professional would be held to, is the standard that under a given set of circumstances presented, it was legal to do this. When you prepare a tax return LdiJ, are you required to follow each taxpayer around for the entire year, tracking every move, to make sure they fall within the guidelines of the info they present to you for return preparation?

LOL. Can't agree more.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

LOL. Can't agree more.

Not only that...

LdiJ could do that for her, whereas I could not. I would need to request a friend do it.

 

[LdiJ]

Her posting did not say that the school wanted her circumstances certified. From what she posted, they wanted confirmation that under her circumstances, filing HOH was legal. A tax professional can confirm if her circumstance meet the requirements of IRS Publication 501, she is legally permitted to claim HOH status, even though she was married. The school can't logically put a burden higher than the IRS puts on an individual. All an IRS letter or tax professional would be held to, is the standard that under a given set of circumstances presented, it was legal to do this. When you prepare a tax return LdiJ, are you required to follow each taxpayer around for the entire year, tracking every move, to make sure they fall within the guidelines of the info they present to you for return preparation?

As a professional, I take my clients word for most things, but do ask enough questions, enough different ways, to ensure that I am doing the required due diligence. If I am not satisfied with the answers, then I refuse to do the return. This is what the IRS requires of me as a registered tax professional.

Therefore if I prepared the return, I would stand by it and would confirm that my client met the criteria.

However, no tax professional prepared this return, therefore no tax professional is going to give her a piece of paper stating that she conformed to the rules without some sort of proof that she conformed to the rules...nor will the IRS.

And...ONCE AGAIN...since her husband alledgedly had no income an amended return to a joint return solves ALL of her problems.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

That would depend on their contention. A contention of fraud is not removed by amending the return. OP needs to clarify what they seek and act/respond accordingly.