- quote -

One minor oquibble, Kate. It's the parents who need to
apply for the number.

a five cent ice cream cone, eh? (Yep, I remember, too.)

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA
Mon 7 Feb 2005

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"rick++" <rick303[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

ALL dependents must have tax id numbers.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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- quote -

Yes, if they do not have a Social Security number, then you
need to obtain an ITIN number. See form W7 (I believe) to
apply for this.

Kate, EA in PA

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"A.G. Kalman" <glendale202-mtm[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
- quote -

That's why I didn't say the parent qualifies OP for HofH,
just that the parent is a "qualifying person." As you note,
to claim HofH you must provide more than half the cost of
maintaining a residence for a qualifying person.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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"rick++" <rick303[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

Yes

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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Phil Marti wrote:

- quote -

I have to take issue with your last sentence. It is not
automatic that a dependent parent also qualifies someone who
is single or considered unmarried as head of household. It
is quite possible that providing more than 50% of total
support fails the test of providing more than 50% of the
cost of maintaining a household. I have seen this often with
parents with high medical bills.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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- quote -

One slight correction, a parent living in Canada may qualify
as a "dependent", see IRC sec. 152(b)(3)(dependent may
include non-U.S. citizen who resides in a "country
contiguous to the United States").

However, you still have to be able to show that you provided
over half of their support in order for them to qualify as
your "dependents" - if you don't provide more than half
their support, they are not your dependents and you cannot
claim a dependent exemption for them.

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Are adult dependents require to have a tax-ID number? I know
this is required for children to reduce the frauds of fake
children and multiple claimnants.

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Christopher Green wrote:
- quote -

See my response as a Canadian resident passes the test.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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"Christopher Green" <cj.green[at]att.net> wrote:
- quote -

The parent need not be in the US or a citizen. Being in
Canada is sufficient.

--
David M. Woods, EA, ChFC, CLU
Woods Financial Services
Norwood, MA 02062
www.woods-financial.com

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A.G. Kalman" <glendale202-mtm[at]yahoo.com> wrote:
- quote -

And if your parent is eligible to be claimed as a dependent
then you can probably qualify for Head of Household filing
status (if you're single).

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"Jawahar Rajan" <jrajan[at]nc.rr.com> wrote:

- quote -

You cannot claim the actual money in any way, with the
possible exception of medical expenses. See IRS Publication
501 for the five rules on determining whether your parents
could be considered your tax dependents. If you can claim a
parent as a dependent, that parent also is a "qualifying
person" for Head of Household filing status if you're
unmarried.

Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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jrajan[at]nc.rr.com (Jawahar=A0Rajan) wrote:

- quote -

You may be able to claim your parent as a dependent. Rather
than detail all of the issues, let me recommend a wonderful
chart on page 31 of Pub 17 (Figure 3-A, "Can You Claim an
Exemption for a Dependent?").

Following the critical path on that chart will help you
determine whether your parent qualifies as a Dependent.
Note that your payment of "more than half" of the person's
total support is a critical issue.

The accompanying text, beginning on page 29 of the same Pub,
outlines in detail the five tests to determine Dependency.

Reading this, should provide you with a definitive answer to
your question.

Bill

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Jawahar Rajan" <jrajan[at]nc.rr.comwrote:

- quote -

While laudable, your contributions are not deductible. Your parent is
not a non-profit organization, so you get no deduction for donations.

Your parent might be your dependent, if he or she were a US citizen or
permanent resident, he or she had minimal income, and you paid for
more than half of his or her total support.

--
Chris Green

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Jawahar Rajan wrote:

- quote -

No deductions for gifts to individuals. No tax credits for being
a good son. However, it is possible that your parent may be your
dependent. Being your parent and residing in Canada passes 2 of
the 5 tests. If the parent has no US source income or US source
gross income of less than $3100 a third test is passed. That
leaves just 2 tests. The parent can't file a US joint return
unless the only reason is to obtain a refund. Finally, the big
test. You must show that you provided more than 50% of your
parent's total support. See IRS Pub 501 for more details.
http://www.irs.gov/publications/index.html

--

Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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Need some advice,

I am supporting my parent in Canada, by sending them some
money each month. Am I able to claim this on my Taxes as a
donation or even as a tax credit of some kind.

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

Jawahar

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