Tax question

[RStelle]

H&R block has no idea what they are doing, apparently they 'aren't trained' to do our taxes cuz we are gay married. Does anyone know if my partner can claim DD as her dependent even though she hasn't legally adopted her yet? She is on her birth certificate as her parent and makes 75% of our income. It would be great if she could because we would get $2000 more in taxes. Thanks! BTW if you ever want to pay someone to do your taxes, whatever you do, don't go to H&R Block! 

[TiredX2]

I googled and this is from Iowa but sounds applicable:

http://dinesentax.com/1487/gay-marriage-monday-the-tax-implications-of-iowas-gartner-birth-certificate-ruling

the parents can decide between themselves which one of them claims the tax dependency exemption.

[TiredX2]

This seems like a pretty good source for information:

http://dinesentax.com/category/same-sex-marriage-and-taxes

[prettyisa]

our accountant said that anyone can claim her--as long as only one person does. So go for it!

[RStelle]

Thanks! I tried to google but I didn't find these. I knew they didn't know what they were talking about.

[outdoorsy]

RStelle, I used H&R for a few years after college, but have since switched to a local CPA who does taxes from a home office. It is way better and - surprise - cheaper. I know you may not have a lot of options if your area of VT is rural, but I recommend you ask around, like you would if you were hiring a contractor, and see if you can find someone good.