It’s important to know the rules regarding dependents and exemptions for your 2017 tax return. The determinations can be complicated.
dependent care
Dependents and Exemptions
When filling out your tax return this year, you may have questions about dependents – such as who can be claimed on your return. Claiming a dependent can have a significant impact on your return, including increasing exemptions and possibly increasing certain credits like the Earned Income Credit and various others. The IRS recently published Tax Tip 2016-08, which lists ten facts about dependents and exemptions. Below is the list of facts, along with some additional information that I’ve included (my comments are in italics): Exemptions and Dependents: TopTen Tax Facts Most people can claim an exemption on their tax return. It can lower your taxable income. In most cases, that reduces the amount of tax you owe for the year. Here are the top 10 tax facts about exemptions to help you file your tax return. E-file Your Tax Return. Easy does it! Use IRS E-file to file a complete […]
March 15 is the Deadline for FSA Claims
If you’re a participant in your employer’s Flex-Spending Account plan (FSA), whether for health-care or dependent care cost reimbursement, you have a limited amount of time to claim the monies that have been set aside in your plan. The way these plans work is that you voluntarily decrease your income by a certain amount, generally paycheck by paycheck, and that amount is placed in a separate account. Over the course of the calendar year, you can request reimbursement from your FSA funds for qualified expenses that you’ve incurred. If it’s a health-care FSA account, you can request reimbursement for your healthcare deductibles, co-payments, and co-insurance costs – literally any health-care expense that is not covered (paid) by other insurance. There are limits, though: beginning with 2011, you cannot be reimbursed for non-prescription (over the counter) medications. If the FSA account is for dependent-care expenses, you can request reimbursement for your […]
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