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.
My child’s father is threating to claim my child and I took care if him his whole life and have claimed him the past 4 years if his life and now his daddy is trying to claim my child under his girlfriends name. What do I do to get me and my sons normal check and keep from getting red flagged or anything. ??
Hi Anja,
If you and your child’s father both claim your son when filing, the IRS will reject both returns and request proof that you are the custodial parent. I would suggest sending any documentation that will prove that you have taken care of your son for the majority of the year (and past years) along with the requested documents and any court orders. The IRS will then determine which parent is to claim the child.
Also, you mentioned that his girlfriend is going to claim your son on her taxes. The IRS will more than likely reject that, seeing as both parents are in the picture already.
Hi. My husband has 2 children from his previous marriage. His divorce decree states that he has the right to claim his son as a dependent. His ex has the right to claim their daughter as a dependent. For 2013 tax return, she claimed both. We noticed when our e-file got rejected. We filed a paper return with a cover letter and copy of the court order. We both received refunds. 2 concerns and one question:
1. The son didn’t live with us at all in Yr2013 (we moved to another state). I read IRS will pick the parent who lived with the dependent longer in the year. But we do have a court order to give my husband the right to claim him.
2. We received a letter from IRS. Is it a normal procedure? It says someone else claimed the same child on income tax return, and also it says if we believe we have the right to claim the child, we don’t have to take any action.
Question: Isn’t her action considered “tax fraud”?
Hi Megan,
To address your questions and concerns in order,
1. As long as you have a court order, that will overrule. The IRS states that the child must live with you as a general rule typically for those without a court order to follow.
2. This is normal procedure for the IRS. They are required to inform you when someone else has claimed a dependent that you have.
3. As you will see on the IRS Information Referral form, this type of situation is considered a ‘False Exemption’. Based on the information you have provided, the situation should work out in your favor.
Hi…gotta a question….I have a boyfriend who i meant 1yr. Now n this past month he wanted to claim two of my kids…didn’t think it through and I let him..now I regret it…cuz I left him n now trying to tell him not to count with them…how can I fix this? What will happen if he already filed but its the early tax filing..and I don’t want him to file with my kids? How can I fix this?
Hi Vanna,
Based on what you’ve said above, it doesn’t sound as if your boyfriend is qualified to claim your children. If he filed his taxes claiming your children AND you did as well, then the IRS will most likely reject both returns seeing as the same dependents were claimed twice. You and your ex-boyfriend will then be requested by the IRS to provide proof that you are qualified to claim the dependents. Being that you are their mother and who they reside with, the IRS will most likely see you as the qualifying person to claim these dependents. The frustrating part will be the time it will take to clear this up with the IRS but I do not see why it would work against you.
Hi, my ex husband and i both claimed my daughter for the year of 2013. I was aware that he would try to claim her but I had already claimed her for the year when he gave me a paper to sign saying that I give him my permission to claim her.. I didn’t sign the paper so obviously he’s forged my name.. We have an agreement saying we would take turns claiming her,but I’m not sure if I understand the rules of the IRS..Even though I claimed her on his year I take care of her 10 months out of the year at least.. he gets our daughter every other weekend but really when those weekends are convenient for him..I’ve already received a letter from the IRS but I’m not sure what its saying that I need to send them proof that she is my dependent? Also in our agreement it plainly states that I am the primary custodial parent.
Hi Grace,
You will need to mail the IRS a cover letter explaining your situation and evidence proving you have the right to claim your children. I suggest sending a copy of your agreement stating that you are the primary custodial parent. It could be that they just did not have access to this specific information. After the IRS receives your mailed return, cover letter and evidence, they will review to see who deserves to claim the dependents. If two people have the right to claim a dependent, 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.
To help, when you send the return, evidence and cover letter to the IRS, be sure to prove and explain you meet the requirements to claim the dependents.
How can my friend find out if her daughter was used as a dependent in someone else’s income taxes?
Hi Sandra,
Your friend can contact the IRS if she is just questioning whether or not this has occurred. However, once she files her return and claims her daughter as a dependent, she will be notified if someone else has claimed her daughter. One of the returns submitted will be rejected. If hers is rejected, then she will be asked to provide proof to the IRS that she should be able to claim her daughter.