Did You Receive Child Tax Credit Money? Check For This Important IRS Letter Before Filing!

advance child tax credit letter 6419

Internal Revenue Service Issues Letter 6419 for Those Who Received Child Tax Credit Money Last Year

advance child tax credit letter 6419The tax season began January 24, 2022, and you may be thinking you’re ready to go ahead and file your 2021 taxes. Well, there might be one more document coming from the Internal Revenue Service if you and your family received advance child tax credit money last year – Letter 6419.

The IRS began issuing these important letters in December, but according to USA Today, many people still hadn’t received their letters as of January 19, 2022. Still, it is important that, if you believe you’re going to receive that letter, you keep an eye out for it.

So, who is going to receive a Letter 6419 from the IRS?

Letter 6419 will be sent to any qualifying family that received payments from the child tax credit from July 2021 to December 2021.

The advance child tax credit payments were a temporary expanded program where families would receive half of their child tax credit over the course of six months in 2021 – July to December. The payments included up to $300 a month for each child through age 5 and up … Read More... “Did You Receive Child Tax Credit Money? Check For This Important IRS Letter Before Filing!”

Gay Marriage Alert: The IRS Finalizes Rules Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages

Tax Returns To Be Amended By IRS To Reflect Same-Sex Marital Status Changes

same-sex marriage irs taxIn 2013, in United States v, Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court found Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional.   Section 3 defined “marriage” as a legal union between one man and one woman and “spouse” as only a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.  The Court’s decision meant that married same-sex couples must be treated under federal law as married opposite-sex couples.

The IRS followed up with Revenue Ruling 2013-17.  The IRS concluded that, for federal tax purposes, the terms ” husband and wife”, “Husband” and “wife” should be interpreted to include same-sex spouses.  The IRS further concluded that, for federal tax purposes, recognition should be given to a same-sex marriage that was valid in the state where it was entered into, regardless of the married couple’s place of domicile.

IRS Issues Final Rules For Same-Sex Marriage Couples

On September 2, 2016, the IRS has issued final rules consistent with United States v. Windsor and Revenue Ruling 2013-17.  Under these rules, the terms “spouse”, “husband” and “wife” shall apply to same-sex marriages for federal tax purposes.  These … Read More... “Gay Marriage Alert: The IRS Finalizes Rules Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages”

Tax Dependency Exemption: Child Support Payments & Obamacare

Effect of “Obamacare” on Tax Dependency Exemption and Required Medical Care for Separated Parents

tax dependency exemption child suuport obamacareParents frequently complain about how their children do nothing but cost them money.   However, when it comes to taxes, children can actually save their parents some money.  Parents are able to receive certain tax deductions for medical care provided to their dependent child as well as receiving certain personal exemptions for each individual they claim as a dependent.  This has the potential to save parents thousands of dollars on their tax returns, since the exemption will reduce their taxable income by a fixed amount.  For 2016, the deduction amount ranges up to $4,050 for each exemption claimed.

For parents that are together and file their taxes jointly, there is no controversy as far as the dependency exemptions and deductions are concerned, as their child is seen as the dependent of both of them.  When parents are separated or divorced, this becomes a bigger issue since only one parent can claim a child as a dependent for tax purposes.   Since child support payments are not deductible or taxable, being able to claim a child as a dependent has important tax implications in regards to parents and the … Read More... “Tax Dependency Exemption: Child Support Payments & Obamacare”

Social Security Benefits Can Be Maximized Post Final Divorce Decree

Divorce Final? How To Maximize Your Social Security Retirement Benefit By Utilizing The Divorced Spouse Benefit

social security retirement benefit divorceYour divorce is finalized!  It is over and done, and you have moved on with your life.  The assets, monetary accounts, retirement accounts, and the like all have been divided per the divorce decree.  With that divorce decree in hand, you ex-spouse is no longer entitled to any future benefit you may receive, and that goes the same for you.  However, there is one benefit you want to keep in mind when you are approaching retirement age.  That benefit is the ability to collect Social Security Retirement on your ex-spouses record even if he or she has remarried!  Like all government benefits there are some requirements you must meet in order to collect under your ex-spouse’s work record.

This benefit, entitled divorced spouse benefit, requires the following:

  • Your marriage lasted 10 years or longer;
  • You are currently unmarried;
  • You are 62 years or older;
  • Your ex-spouse is entitled to Social Security retirement or disability benefits; and
  • The benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work record is less than the benefit you would receive based on your ex-spouse’s work record.

If … Read More... “Social Security Benefits Can Be Maximized Post Final Divorce Decree”