This is my first year filing a joint tax return since we just got married. I've been google searching all morning and can't for the life of me figure out how to report DH's income. DH works for his father who owns his own window cleaning business (no other employees, just the two of them). His Dad pays him weekly by writing him a check out of the business account.
Since he doesn't get a W-2, how in the world do I record this? Total all the checks up and throw them into our income? I asked his mom what they've been doing and she said they've been claiming him as a dependent, putting the money he was getting under their income and paying the tax on it for him. Anyone else have a DH that gets paid similarly?
Re: NBR: Anyone tax knowledgeable?
Well they aren't claiming him this year, they said that we should do our own joint return now that he is married and since he now has primary custody of his daughter that we will be claiming.
I just googled small business W-2s and it looks like he is required to make one. Not sure if he will be able to figure that out..
If he is paid under the table you might be better off not reporting anything. I would definitely talk to the dad to get better details before you file. They are probably doing it a weird way to save money on taxes on their end.
Be aware, though... You're probably going to owe a lot in taxes this year because his dad didn't take out taxes up front like he should've. Your H may want to talk to your dad about changing that in the coming year. If not, you're going to have to be pretty diligent about putting money into savings for year end taxes.
I think I figured it out. His Dad is required to give him a W-2, so he'll need to figure out how to do that. It frustrates me beyond belief how his Dad has so carelessly handled this.
I know that we are going to have to pay taxes on his income, but I'm hoping that with two dependents and the money that I overpaid, that we come close to breaking even.
Jamie
Claiming a child generally requires that they live with you for more than half the year, they don't provide more than half of their own financial support and are under the age of 19, or under 24 if a full-time student. Claiming adults as your dependents is allowed if you satisfy similar requirements.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894472-who-is-a-dependent
Other relatives
Many families provide homes for relatives such as parents or grandparents, or give financial support to relatives who live across town or across the country.
Here's a list of the people considered to be relatives who might qualify as dependents even if they don't live with you:
They must ALSO meet these qualifications for the year:
Note: If your child is not a qualifying child for 2013 because he or she does not meet the age/student test or the principal place of residence test, you may still be able to claim a dependent exemption for the child as your qualifying relative, but only if he or she has gross income under $3,900 and you provide more than half of his or her support.
--------------------------Generally, someone that works for you is not your dependent.
Jamie
He lived at home in prior years so I guess that's how they got away with claiming him. I agree, it's a total mess and they weren't doing things right at all. Makes me want to scream!
Oh and to explain the above, he just got custody of his daughter last year and part of the CO was that he will be claiming her on taxes.