"Tom" <Tom[at]cppc.com> writes:

- quote -

The moderator is correct, but two expansions on what he said:
1) Any sale of a capital asset that has to be reported on
Sched D, be it for gain or for loss, disqualifies you from
including the child's income on your return.
2) If there's a capital loss, and any of it gets carried forward,
you are disqualified from including the child's income on
your return until the loss is used up.

--
Rich Carreiro rlc-news[at]rlcarr.com

--
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- quote -

Yes, it's okay to change. Each year is independent. And, as
the moderator said, you have no choice this year. You cannot
include your son's income on your return. He has to file his
own return.

I'm not sure what you mean by "I have filed his returns for
years." If you mean that you have been reporting his income
on your return, you may have been paying more tax than
necessary. If you are ever in a position to report your
son's income on your return in the future, you should
compare the results to filing a separate return for him. You
may very well find that the total tax on the two separate
returns is lower than if you report his income on your
return.

Bob Sandler

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

"Bob Sandler" <bob_usenet[at]yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1rmhp4huu8saao1t8vdveaek1dvq3uf6sl[at]4ax.com...
- quote -

out?
I have filed his returns for years, so is changing this year okay?


========================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
Yes, having a capital loss, reported on schedule D, does
disqualify you from including child's income on your tax return.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

- quote -

You cannot "just add his income to your return" as if it
were your income. You can elect to report his income on your
return, using Form 8814, if his income is only interest and
dividends, is over $900 and less than $9,000, and he did not
make any estimated tax payments. You can do the same for the
21-year-old if he is a full-time student, in addition to
meeting the other requirements.

Bob Sandler

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >

I have way more deductions than I need to pay no income tax this year, and
too little income to hit AMT.

Both my children will have to pay income tax. Okay, just a couple hundred
dollars, but still...

Can they take their own medical expenses, eventhough I paid them?

One son is 15; under what circumstances can I just add his income to my
return? The other is 21.


========================================= MODERATOR'S COMMENT:
If your son(s) paid his medical expenses from his own funds, he is
allowed to report them on his schedule A.

--
<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >