Did the IRS reject your tax return because someone else claimed your dependent?
Claiming a dependent is usually pretty simple: you give the IRS their social security number, certifying that your relationship with that person satisfies a few simple rules.
Things can get more complicated, especially if someone else also claims the same person as a dependent. If they file their return first, the IRS will assume it’s legitimate and award them the full tax benefit of the dependent. When you attempt to e-file your return, it will be rejected.
The process is fairly straightforward. After your e-filed return has been rejected because someone else claimed the same dependent, you need to file a paper return. You can still prepare your return online. Instead of e-filing, you will need to print it out, sign it, and mail it to the IRS.
With your return, include a cover letter explaining your situation to the IRS as well as evidence proving that you have the right to claim the dependent (ie: medical records, school records, etc.).
The IRS will then review both returns claiming that dependent and determine which person should be claiming the dependent based on tax law.
The first thing to do is to make sure that you actually can claim the person in question as a dependent. There are two types of dependents, qualifying children and qualifying relatives, and both have different requirements.
Criteria for claiming a qualifying child
In order to claim someone as a qualifying child, he or she must
- Be your biological or adopted child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, half sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of one of these
- Be under age 19, under age 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled
- Remain a U.S. citizen or resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico
- Not be married, or be married but not filing a joint return
- Have lived with you for at least half the year.
- Not have provided more than half of his or her own support
Criteria for claiming a qualifying relative
In order to claim someone as a qualifying relative, he or she must
- Have lived with you all year as a member of your household, or be one of the following family members: child, parent, sibling, stepparent, stepchild, step-sibling, half sibling, grandparent, grandchild, child-in-law, parent-in-law, sibling-in-law, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew.
- Remain a U.S. citizen or resident, or a resident of Canada or Mexico
- Not be married, or be married but not filing a joint return
- Not be a qualifying child of you or someone else
- Have a gross income of less than $4,000
- Have more than half of their total support for the year provided by you
When you sent your cover letter and evidence along with your return, you should strive to prove that you satisfy all of the requirements for the type of dependent that you are trying to claim.
Can I find out who claimed my dependent?
The IRS can’t tell you who else has claimed the dependent for several reasons. One is that since they don’t know who made the right claim, they don’t want to violate the privacy of someone who really is claiming their own child. Another is that there’s always the potential for mistakes, and it doesn’t make much sense to punish someone for accidentally writing a “4” that looks like a “9” when copying a Social Security number.
What if two people both meet the requirements to claim a dependent?
If two different people both have the right to claim the dependent according to the criteria listed above, the IRS will generally award the dependent to the person with whom the dependent lived for the greatest amount of time during the tax year. If the dependent lived with both people for an equal amount of time, then the IRS will award the dependent to the taxpayer with the higher AGI.
Why dependents require a Social Security number
For a while, dependents didn’t require a Social Security number at all. The IRS used to take taxpayers’ word for it when they claimed dependents. But in 1987, the rule changed to require taxpayers to give a Social Security number for every dependent they claimed. And suddenly, seven million dependents disappeared. Many of them were probably due to misunderstandings: two divorced parents each claiming all of their kids, for example. But others could have been due to shady behavior, including claiming children while knowing someone else would claim them, or even fabricating dependents entirely.
Prevent this in the future
The problem can be solved by mailing in a paper return. But how do you prevent this from happening in future years? The IRS is working to improve its safeguards against tax fraud and identity theft, but these aren’t perfect. The best thing you can do to prevent someone else from claiming your dependent is to file your taxes as early as possible. That way your e-filed return will be accepted and theirs will be rejected. You’ll get your refund on time and they will be required to prove they meet the dependent criteria.
Some food for thought
In situations like the ones discussed above, there tends to be emotion involved from both parties. The IRS is required to base all final decisions solely on tax law. When dealing with the IRS, it is most productive to stick to the facts. This will save you time and stress.
So I know for a fact that my sister user my kids ask her dependints and should not have, my miss live with me and I take Daddy of them we live in texas she lives in la. I understand that I half to send in a letter and my taxes but what’s the address that I send it to?
Hi Donna,
You can find the IRS address to file taxes here: http://www.priortax.com/filing-late-taxes/the-irs-address-to-file-taxes/
My ex mother in law claimed my kids without my permission. My mother was supposed to claim them. Is there a way that I can report my mother in law & my mom still be able to claim them? Help..
Hi Tina,
At this point your mother needs to file a paper return claiming the kids. She should also include a cover letter explaining the situation as well as evidence that proves she has the right to claim them.
HI I NEED SOME ANSWERS I THINK MY DAUGHTER MAY HAVE BEEN CLAIMED BY HER DADS WIFE? HOWEVER SHE DOES NOT GO THERE AND HE DOES NOT SUPPORT HER IN ANY WAY AT ALL NO CHILD SUPPORT NOTHING. HOW DO I FIND OUT AND WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS? THANKS
Hi Misty,
The only way to tell if someone else has claimed your daughter is to e-file your own return claiming your daughter. If it gets accepted, that means no one else has claimed her. If it gets rejected, then someone (possible her dad’s wife) has claimed her. In this situation, the best thing to do is to mail in a paper return claiming your daughter along with a cover letter explaining your situation and evidence proving that you have the right to claim your daughter as a dependent.
Hello,
I now reside with my girlfriends mother who needed help catching up with the rent, and so I gave her permission to claim my child as a dependend. I only agreed on five hundred dollars and knowing from the past (3 or 4 years ago) she had claimed my son without our permission. So now I am worried that she had done so again, but she swears to God that the IRS messed up and the whole thing is still pending. What can I do to find out if she’s telling the truth or not?
Hi Gary,
Well, the only way to know if someone has claimed your dependent is to e-file a return of your own claiming your own child. If it gets accepted, she didn’t claim your child. If it gets rejected it means that someone (possibly her) claimed the child. You could try calling the IRS to figure out who, but I’m not sure they would provide that information. If your return gets rejected the best thing to do is to mail in a paper return claiming your child as a dependent along with a cover letter explaining the situation and evidence that proves you have the right to claim the dependent.
I have a question I can’t seem to find the answer to: ok I’ve lived with my mom and girlfriend and on my own almost equaly for
2012, meaning I lived on my own for about 4 months my mom about 4 months and my girlfriend about 4 months. I only had one job the whole year for 3 days making around 400 dollars, but in march of 2012 I cashed out a pension I had for about 16,000. The federal witholding was around 2900. I received a 1099-r for that and a w2 for the job I worked for the few days. Now here’s my question, I recently found out my mom somehow claimed me (I’m 28yrs old) on her taxes. She told them I didn’t work or make any money the whole year. I did some research and found out I still need to file a return and I may even get some much needed money back. I know its a mess but I need your advice, should I just file as usual? Or am I going to be rejected because I’ve been claimed already? I don’t want my mom to get in trouble either, can you please offer me some advice on how I should handle this? Please any information will be helpful. Thanks
Hi Nathan,
Based on your description, it sounds like your mother does NOT have the right to claim you as a dependent. You are much too old to be a qualifying child and in order for her to claim you as a qualifying relative, you must have a gross income less than $3,800 (which you didn’t). You can find more info here: http://www.priortax.com/filing-late-taxes/who-qualifies-as-a-dependent-on-your-taxes/
Basically, you have two options. You can either file your return saying that someone else claimed you as a dependent. Your return will be accepted, but there is a possibility given your age and income that the IRS would investigate your mother’s return more closely.
Or you can file claiming your own personal exemption (basically asserting that you were not a dependent). This will be rejected if you e-file so you need to paper file. You should also include a cover letter explaining the situation and evidence proving you were not a dependent. This will definitely cause your mother’s return to be reviewed and she will most likely have to pay back a great deal of her refund and file an amended return.
It’s understandable that you don’t want to get your mother in trouble with the IRS, but I highly recommend you take option two. Not only will your refund be larger, but what your mother’s doing is technically illegal (whether she realizes it or not). Luckily, as long as she is due a refund she won’t have to pay any penalties or interest and I doubt that she will have to suffer any penalty greater than paying back a portion of her refund.