Taking married child as dependent

Sounds like you have it correct.

A couple of facts are missing, but we'll assume that the daughter does qualify as a dependent if she doesn't file a joint return. The biggest missing fact is what the newlyweds think. I ask because I've seen more than one three-generation household that would greatly benefit from the grandmother claiming the grandchild, but the mother says, "Nobody's claiming my baby but me."

Phil Marti VITA/TCE Volunteer Clarksburg, MD

"Tom C" wrote

You've got it right. And the extra refund money goes to......??

We've been down this road lately, and the thing that was agreed on was that the newlywed couple should be made whole, as it were. Such that the higher taxes they had to pay by filing separately was off-set, up to the amount they would have received in refunds, by a portion of the other parents much higher refund for claiming the daughter/spouse. In the end, no one but the government ended up with less.

as a dependent if she doesn't file a joint return.  The biggest missing fact is what the newlyweds think.  I ask because I've seen more than one three-generation household that would greatly benefit from the grandmother claiming the grandchild, but the mother says, "Nobody's claiming my baby but me."

Thanks, I did have to explain that to the taxpayer.

They were happy to give the married couple the difference to bring the couple up to where they would be if they filed jointly, but I also explained to him that, while it was up to him (and he'd have to work it out with them,) merely bringing them back up to where they'd be didn't give the married couple any incentive to follow this scheme, and that he might want to consider at least splitting the refund with them.

He eventually decided to give the couple $400 of the $500 net savings. I just laughed and told him he'd probably be giving them the money at some point anyway.