Is her fetus a tax deduction?

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I have a woman friend who's in her third month of pregnancy and about to start working on her income tax return. She wants to know if, since the government has declared that a fetus is a "person" from the moment of conception, can she write the little dickens off as a dependant? Just curious....

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As the little dickens "person" is COMPLETELY dependant upon her I say....

Yes.

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Sure! All she has to do is march on down to the SSA office and get the lil bugger a SSAN. Good luck! lol

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It's never too early to start paying taxes. That fetus has loafed around.... what.... six months?

Bootstraps, baby, bootstraps.

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I think it would make a very interesting lawsuit....I'm quite sure most judges would dismiss it as frivolous, but I'd love to hear the legal reasoning...I mean, what's the difference between a day old kid and a three-month old fetus if both are people? And if it would require the kid have a SSN before he (it's a boy) would be considered a dependant, then I agree...let mommy run down and get him one!

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You people are joking, right?

You can't be a dependent until you're born. I was born 10 days late (January 9), and my mom never lets me forget the tax deduction I cost her.

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Id imagine an unborn child is very dependant of its surroundings and everything its mother gives it by being in her womb!!

A bit off topic but of a feutus is declared a person from conception it brings up the whole debate of abortion being murder!!

Does that mean a sperm or an egg is half a person?

I may not understand what is meant by dependant.Anyone care to define it in this case for me.

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I would take the deduction.

Govt has defined the fetus as living, it is certainly dependant.

I would love to see the case go to Tax Court and see how it is ruled. THis assumes you get audited, which is unlikely.

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I would LOVE to see every pregnant woman taking the fetus as a tax deduction. I think that some of those anti-abortionists, would have some second thoughts, about their political stance on the issue!

Imagine....................a woman is pregnant, but she has an abortion in her 2nd month. By the impeccable logic presented in this thread, the woman could claim the fetus, dependent for 2 months, for the entire taxable year. Now, if a woman were really "creative", she could do this 3-4 times a year, and have multiple dependents. This I would love to see,

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This was not a facetious question....I'd like to hear from a tax lawyer and get a definitive answer...No others need apply...

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http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc354.html

Quote:

Qualifying Child
There are five tests that must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:

Relationship,

Age,

Residency,

Support, and

Special test for qualifying child of more than one person.

These tests are explained next.

Relationship Test
To meet this test, a child must be:

Your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant (for example, your grandchild) of any of them, or

Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant (for example, your niece or nephew) of any of them.

Adopted child. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. The term "adopted child" includes a child who was lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.

Eligible foster child. An eligible foster child is an individual who is placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

Age Test
To meet this test, a child must be:

Under age 19 at the end of the year,

A full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year, or

Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.

Example.

Your son turned 19 on December 10. Unless he was disabled or a full-time student, he does not meet the age test because, at the end of the year, he was not under age 19.

Full-time student. A full-time student is a student who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full-time attendance.

Student defined. To qualify as a student, your child must be, during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year:
A full-time student at a school that has a regular teaching staff, course of study, and a regularly enrolled student body at the school, or

A student taking a full-time, on-farm training course given by a school described in (1), or by a state, county, or local government agency.

The 5 calendar months do not have to be consecutive

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#d0e3613

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It is interesting that this doesn't say anything about BIRTH to 19.

The only thing I could really find was a discussion about doctors being ordered to treat miscarried fetus' (as small as .07grams (at about 9 weeks gestation)) and that the miscarriage should be recorded as a live birth. Because it was recorded as a live birth the parent's were able to take the tax deduction that year.

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Laws are made by people (men, mostly) and thus a precedent must be established. How? With a test case. Now then - are there any pregnant women out there who would like to put this silly little notion to a test (basically to force the pro-lifers to sit or get off the pot)...and of course, there needs to be a lawyer to take the case pro bono. Maybe I should contact David E. Kelley and see if he'll use it on Boston Legal, which, BTW, is the best show by far on TV. Denny Crane.

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olddog wrote:

Laws are made by people (men, mostly) and thus a precedent must be established. How? With a test case. Now then - are there any pregnant women out there who would like to put this silly little notion to a test (basically to force the pro-lifers to sit or get off the pot)...and of course, there needs to be a lawyer to take the case pro bono. Maybe I should contact David E. Kelley and see if he'll use it on Boston Legal, which, BTW, is the best show by far on TV. Denny Crane.

Apparently, you do not understand how tax court works.

YOU do not initiate the suit. The IRS instigates the process via audit, their review, their decision is rendered.

If you do not agree with the decision, you bring their decision to tax court.

Our process for tax filings is based on the "honor system". The IRS is not always right and many times, the court will side with the taxpayer, thereby establishing the precedent.

If this is a ligitimate issue for you, I would take the deduction and see what happens. The worst thing is the deduction is disallowed and then you can decide to pursue in tax court.

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thanks, woiyo. Peace, out.

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Is her fetus a tax deduction?

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