10 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • MARCH 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Financial Steps to Take After a Child Is Born
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41-18 CRESCENT ST
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101
718-707-0295
47-46 VERNON BLVD
SECOND FLOOR
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101
718-707-0295
Hernan Barona, E.A
hernan@savignano-cpa.com
www.savignano-cpa.com
ObtainMyRefund.com
BY JOHN SAVIGNANO, CPA
The arrival of a newborn can be a joyous
occasion. Even while emotions are
at their peak, you shouldn’t neglect the
practical aspects. Several steps should be
taken to protect the family’s finances and
the sooner the better.
Assuming the birth takes place in a
hospital, ask for a birth registration form;
most hospitals distribute them to maternity
patients. Check the box on the form
to request a Social Security number for
your baby. You’ll have to supply the parents’
Social Security numbers.
If the birth doesn’t take place in a hospital,
or if there is some other reason this
form isn’t available, contact your local Social
Security office to get the process started.
Once you have the Social Security
number, you’ll be on solid ground for
claiming tax benefits. Those include an
additional dependency exemption and
perhaps the child tax credit. You’ll also
be able to open savings and investment
accounts in the child’s name.
Notify your Employer
Another key step is locking in health
insurance for the newborn. If you’re
covered by an employer plan, let your
employer know about the baby. When
both parents have employer plans, determine
which one will be better, going forward.
If neither parent has a health plan
at work, notify your health insurance
directly. There may be a 30-day window,
after the birth, in which to enroll the
child and avoid possible problems.
Regardless of your health insurance
situation, you should speak to someone
at your company about adjusting your
IRS Form W-4, which determines the
amount that’s withheld from your paychecks
for income tax. On your W-4,
the more allowances you claim, the less
tax you’ll have withheld. Therefore, you
might add one allowance to your W-4
after the birth of a child. You’ll have more
cash flow with every paycheck, money
that you’ll need to meet the increasing
expenses of new parenthood or expanding
a family.
Child Tax Credit
• The Child Tax Credit can save up to
$1,000 per year for each qualifying child.
• To merit the credit for 2016, a child
must have been 16 or younger at the end
of 2016.
• You must claim the credit as a dependent
on your federal tax return.
• To get the full $1,000 tax savings,
your modified adjusted gross income
must be less than $110,000 on a joint
return, or $55,000 for married taxpayers
filing a separate return.
• For all other taxpayers, this modified
adjusted gross income is $75,000. The
credit phases out for taxpayers with modified
adjusted gross income higher than
the amount for their filing status. Partial
credits are allowed with somewhat higher
modified adjusted gross income.
Did You Know?
Workers overwhelmingly consider
health insurance to be the most important
employee benefit. In a survey, 88%
of employees said health insurance is
“extremely important” or “very important”.
Indeed 60% of those surveyed are
planning to work longer than they would
like in order to continue receiving health
insurance through their employer.
John Savignano is a partner with
Savignano Accountants & Advisors located
at 47-46 Vernon Blvd., Second Floor, in
Long Island City. If you have any questions
or require additional information, please call
John at 718-707-0955.
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