TAX HELP

[PSINXS]

anybody on here good with taxes? Good meaning you understand the tax system, have taken a class, worked for h nr block etc. if so i got a couple questions.

or is there a chat or something you can ask questions about taxes?

[SicStang03]

Just post the questions.. I would like to learn a lil more too as I just bought my first how and my taxes are going to be a lot harder than filling out 2 little forms this year LOL

[PSINXS]

ok here it goes.
1) My ex wife took all our personal documents. we r in the process of divorce. how do i get back my tax info? I need to fill out a fafsa real soon. She is NOT reasonable, changed her number, moves around constantly, does not answer emails. I am requesting the paperwork be brought to mediation but thats after when i need my fafsa completed.

2) IF a divorce is not final, how do i file? single? married filing seperate?

3) if a child is involved, during that tax year he spent majority of his time in your care (9 of 12months) who claims him on taxes? She took my son on September 15th and never brought him back. does that make her sole provider? does she get to claim him? do we both claim him as dependent?

[SicStang03]

Sounds like you need to talk to a lawyer. Not sure how you should file single/married, but I know a few people going through a divorce and they are waiting till January to file.. for tax purposes. Sounds like your ex wife is a dumb bitch

[PSINXS]

Sounds like you need to talk to a lawyer. Not sure how you should file single/married, but I know a few people going through a divorce and they are waiting till January to file.. for tax purposes. Sounds like your ex wife is a dumb bitch

thanks you answered number 2.

someone suggested for one that i should just go back to my previous employers for w-2 but i am not sure if that will cover all info needed by the fafsa.


I use to be real bitter and would encourage the name calling of my ex. She is not the greatest person by any means. I hate her. but she's still my son's mother. Can she not be called a bitch for his sake?

[quickdodge®]

ok here it goes.
1) My ex wife took all our personal documents. we r in the process of divorce. how do i get back my tax info? I need to fill out a fafsa real soon. She is NOT reasonable, changed her number, moves around constantly, does not answer emails. I am requesting the paperwork be brought to mediation but thats after when i need my fafsa completed.

2) IF a divorce is not final, how do i file? single? married filing seperate?

3) if a child is involved, during that tax year he spent majority of his time in your care (9 of 12months) who claims him on taxes? She took my son on September 15th and never brought him back. does that make her sole provider? does she get to claim him? do we both claim him as dependent?

1. You can go to the person or agency that filed your taxes last year. If you went somewhere like Jackson-Hewitt, they should have records of your filing to be able to give you.

2. I think you're able to file either way.

3. I'm not clear on this, but from what I've been through, you're able to take turns claiming the child. But I do believe the court sides with the custodial parent. If she files for him, you can not. And vice versa.

Later, QD.

[PSINXS]

1. You can go to the person or agency that filed your taxes last year. If you went somewhere like Jackson-Hewitt, they should have records of your filing to be able to give you.

2. I think you're able to file either way.

3. I'm not clear on this, but from what I've been through, you're able to take turns claiming the child. But I do believe the court sides with the custodial parent. If she files for him, you can not. And vice versa.

Later, QD.

what if i did them using turbotax? on her laptop? how to retrieve then?


and for 3 its seems like a w-2 race.

[quickdodge®]

what if i did them using turbotax? on her laptop? how to retrieve then?


and for 3 its seems like a w-2 race.

All the information should be saved on some sort of "TurboTax account" or something I would imagine. I do mine through H&R Block online and was able to retrieve last years info through the online "account." I guess if you could get TT installed on your computer and have the account information, you could access it and get your information you need. I've never done TT, so I don't really know how it works.

As for #3, you could look at it that way, lolol. Later, QD.

[ueyedgr8tness]

^ word if she used turbo tax/efile u just need to retrieve the pass some how. also if u kept the kid longer than she did just had some kind of proof to back it up like daycare,school etc and no mateer if she claims him u would still get to claim him in the end because of the proof u had him longer. Also is u file for divorce and they can't seem to find her u will get that divorce with no struggle and without having to get a lawyer..

[PSINXS]

^ word if she used turbo tax/efile u just need to retrieve the pass some how. also if u kept the kid longer than she did just had some kind of proof to back it up like daycare,school etc and no mateer if she claims him u would still get to claim him in the end because of the proof u had him longer. Also is u file for divorce and they can't seem to find her u will get that divorce with no struggle and without having to get a lawyer..

i have well documented proof.

the divorce is being handled smoothly, thanx. retrieving is gonna be a bastard to do. Im going to look more into turbo tax to seei f there is a nubmer or something i can call for lost pass. thanks yall.

[quickdodge®]

^ word if she used turbo tax/efile u just need to retrieve the pass some how. also if u kept the kid longer than she did just had some kind of proof to back it up like daycare,school etc and no mateer if she claims him u would still get to claim him in the end because of the proof u had him longer. Also is u file for divorce and they can't seem to find her u will get that divorce with no struggle and without having to get a lawyer..

If she files before he does and it goes through and then he files and they both claim the child, he'll either get penalized or have to go through a process to prove that he was the primary caregiver for the majority of the year. I would go through the process.

As far as the divorce. A way to file for divorce as cheaply as possible is have the divorce published in the hometown paper you were married in. If it goes unchallenged for 30 days, it is legally final.


Step 1 - File a divorce petition. All divorces begin with the filing of a petition. This is usually a form that's available at your local state courthouse. The form is filed with the clerk of the family law division and a small filing fee must be paid.

Step 2 - Attempt service of process. Before you can proceed with divorce by publication, you'll most likely have to attempt normal service of process. This means hiring the sheriff or a private process server to deliver a copy of the divorce petition, plus a court summons, to the last known address of your spouse.

Step 3 - Request service by publication. To be effective, you'll have to get permission from the court to proceed with service by publication. This is done by submitting a form to the court making the request. If granted, the court will specify the duration the ad must run and the number and type of newspapers in which it must be run.

Step 4 - Run your ad. Service by publication usually lasts anywhere from two to six weeks or more. The ad is usually placed in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the divorce is filed. The ad must provide enough information to alert the spouse of the divorce proceeding and allow them to respond.

Step 5 - If your spouse does not respond to the ad, you can then move the court to enter their default. This means you will be divorced on the terms you requested in the petition. Once complete, the entire process can be referred to as divorce by publication.

Later, QD.

[ueyedgr8tness]

^ and seems like to me he needs to hope that the papers never get to her so that it will get done cheaper without her fighting lol!! my sister is going through this right now and i claim 1 of her kids becaue i help raise all 3 of them. I went through the hole child claim thing last yr with there dad.but a the end of the day 3 months later i won because they live with me and all there doctors bills come to me:)

[snis300]

what happens if you didn't file your state taxes last year? would they provide something in the mail for you? I was due for a state refund, and I heard I wouldn't get a penalty for not filing, but now I don't know what to do now.

[civicturbo10]

I use Turbotax and it saves the file in the root directory where turbo tax installs it's software. AKA on the laptop hard drive you used Turbo Tax to do your taxes. Somehow locate that laptop to snatch up files off that thing.

Did you efile or print out hard copies? I vaguely remember the software asking if you want to print a hard copy for your records. I usually don't since i archive in .pdf and i have archives or archives, off site, lol. GL


All the information should be saved on some sort of "TurboTax account" or something I would imagine. I do mine through H&R Block online and was able to retrieve last years info through the online "account." I guess if you could get TT installed on your computer and have the account information, you could access it and get your information you need. I've never done TT, so I don't really know how it works.

As for #3, you could look at it that way, lolol. Later, QD.

[JennB]

1) You can request your tax transcripts from the IRS. Call them at 1-800-829-1040 or use IRS Form 4506t

2) I would suggest married filing separately

3) The parent who had the child for most of the year should claim him/her. Be prepared to have to prove this though if you take the benefits since she seems to be a little angry and vengeful. Does one person officially have court ordered custody? In separations where there is not court documents saying who cares for the child, the IRS goes by who had the child for most of the year.

[quickdodge®]

HA!! And I didn't have to go to school to know this stuff, lolol. Later, QD.

[JennB]

Your answers were not the same as mine. I am the only person here to mention the IRS which I thought would be quite obvious. Everyone is talking about turbo tax and websites when the IRS is the receiver and keeper of your tax returns.

You also said you thought you could file either way when answering "2) IF a divorce is not final, how do i file? single? married filing seperate?". You can only file married jointly or married separately if you are still legally married on December 31 of the year you are filing for. You cannot file single.

But anyway, not going to ague it. I posted to help, not as a pissing contest.

Good luck, take my answers and get your stuff taken care of.



A couple more notes and clarifications for this thread. When looking for tax advice, don't go for H&R Block, etc. Those are not tax professionals, they are tax preparers. The only way you can get solid advice from them if if the person you are working with is a retired or former tax professional. They are just seasonal workers that flip through screens on the computer asking the questions it asks and filling out forms. Sure, some of them have a clue but I've heard so many horror stories of penalties, amended returns etc. from their former clients that I just wouldn't trust them without a second opinion.

Turbo Tax, TaxAct, etc are just e-filing agencies. They are collectors of tax information who have friendly forms and tools to help you fill out your taxes. Once you are done, they transmit them to the IRS for you. The IRS does not currently allow you to file your personal e-file directly, you must have a registered e-filing agency file it with them on your behalf. No matter what service you use, online or not, it all ends up in the exact same place... the IRS. You can always go to the IRS for your tax records and during tax season, you can even get an appointment with them to help you fill out your tax forms for free. If you have simple tax forms and don't want to pay the ridiculous fees for an in person service and you don't want to do it online, call them once tax season starts. The best thing to do is learn how to do it yourself. Taxes aren't that scary and there is a lot of help out there that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. :goodjob:

One day, the IRS will have a direct e-file and you will be able to file with them for free, just as if you were mailing it in.

Also, remember if you make under $56K per year (that was the 2008 limit, I haven't checked to see if it will change for 2009) you can file the federal portion of your tax returns for free. Go to irs.gov and follow the e-file links to one of their preferred e-file agencies.

[quickdodge®]

Your answers were not the same as mine. I am the only person here to mention the IRS which I thought would be quite obvious. Everyone is talking about turbo tax and websites when the IRS is the receiver and keeper of your tax returns.

Or you can do as I said and retrieve it through your tax preparer. Easier that way as it only took me about 15 minutes.


You also said you thought you could file either way when answering "2) IF a divorce is not final, how do i file? single? married filing seperate?". You can only file married jointly or married separately if you are still legally married on December 31 of the year you are filing for. You cannot file single.

That's IF his divorce isn't final.


But anyway, not going to ague it. I posted to help, not as a pissing contest.

I'm not arguing.


Good luck, take my answers and get your stuff taken care of.

Or mine.

Don't be mad at me, please, Jenn. I didn't do anything to you, lolol. Later, QD.