This may have been asked before, but I can't find anything....

I have a mom who pays me for her two boys who have different fathers. Both fathers are fighting to claim the kids, and they want seperate tax forms from me. It's not really a big deal for me to do it, I was just wondering if LEGALLY if I have to? Or is my only obligation to give mom one total?

Thanks!

Reply

Who pays you?

I would think you are legally only obligated to give the mom her TOTAL paid. If the fathers paid, I would give them each their total.

I suppose if the fathers want to know the attendance of each child, you could supply that info IF you have it and want to go that extra step.

I personally wouldn't go through all my records and try and figure that out since I have too much to do at tax time as it is and unless the father's have each gotten a court order for me to supply that info, I honestly don't think I would bother.

I love the quirky, weird and simply odd requests divorced/split parents ask for.

If these things were so important before, how come each parent didn't track it....why is it always left for the provider to mediate and figure out?

Sorry, those last comments were just me venting outloud ....I've had lots of "Could you do this..." or "Would it be a big deal for you to...." myself from parents.

Reply

I don't think you have to give them a tax form at all! Let them work it out!

Reply

It depends on a variety of things.

Who signed the contract? If DCM and a DCD signed then you might be required to give DCD his share of the payments but not all.

Who paid you? I keep track of payments by who gives them to me or who's name is on the check. I use MMK Pro and add both parents to the program especially when they are not married. I had one DCD that I would never see but helped DCM with DC payments every other week so he would write her a check with my name on it and she would give me the check. I'd enter those checks under that dad's name so at the end of the year I printed each of them W-2's with their share of payments.

If DCD was giving you payments then I'd go ahead and give him the total of the amount of payments that he made.

Also, you are only obligated to give them W-2's and nothing else. Even then only if they provide one for you. I know a lot of us providers know that already but we give them out anyway without being asked just as a courtesy. But if it becomes a big deal to you and they ask for tax paperwork you can just ask them for a blank W-2 write your info on it and their paid total and have them sign a second copy for your records.

If the DCD's ever ask to see attendance records or their child's file and they aren't married to the DCM if I remember correctly they are still allowed to do that even if they are not listed on the contract. I would do this only if you've met them before and know that they are the DCD's. If you've never met them and don't know them then you can require that they give you a photo copy of their custody agreement that says that they share legal custody.

In any case ask the DCM for a copy of each child's custody agreement once she has one and keep it in your files.

Reply

First, you are not required to give parents a receipt or your EIN. See my article on this: http://www.tomcopelandblog.com/2013/...ng-income.html

Second, the danger of giving both parents a receipt is that they will both claim the same amount and the IRS will assume you earned twice as much. The best way to handle this is to give a receipt to the parent who paid you (the mother). Let them sort it out.

If both parents paid you and you don't have a record indicating which parent paid you how much, make out two receipts for the total paid and write "duplicate" on one.

Reply

I'm sorry I didn't get back sooner, but blackcat, you are SO right, and Tom, thank you very much!

Mom is the ONLY one who ever paid me. I can't let her problem (Mess ) be my problem.

I wouldn't think that EITHER father is entitled to claim the tax credit, since neither of them paid me. They pay her "child support" and that's it. They don't pay her for childcare on top of that.

I gave her one receipt, and let her sort it out.

Thanks again everyone!

Reply