[courage08]

Hi,

I've been working in US for one year now with J1 visa and I had my own scholarship from my country. This year I'll get full salary and recently I have got a form from my employer to report my taxes . My kids are 18 and living in another country, however I send money to them every month, can I put their name as dependence or I should call it alimony? Is there another form to fill for that?:confused:

Thanks for the answer
Courage

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Courage:

If you are under a J-1 visa that does not exempt your salary from taxes, you will need to file as a non-resident alien, filing Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

If you file as a non-resident alien, you may or may not be able to claim your children as dependents; it depends on your home country and the tax treaty (if one exists).

[MukatA]

Courage:
A payment to or for a spouse under a divorce or separation instrument is alimony if the spouses do not file a joint return with each other and a few other requirements are met.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Agreed!

What courage is paying is child support, which is neither deductible for the payter nor taxable as income to the receiver.

However, the payments MAY qualify Courage to claim the dependency exemption.