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 bf went to e file his taxes and got rejected because someone else claimed his son. His sons mother never worked a day In her life so we think a family member claimed him so she cant get the money this year. My bf claims him every year and pays child support. They have joint 50/50 custody but he supports him majority. What forms do I need to open an audit for providing dependency?
Hi Christa,
If your boyfriend believes that he has the right to claim a dependent claimed by someone else, then he should file a paper return. The IRS will process the return as usual and when it is rejected, the IRS will contact both parties. Both parties will then be asked to provide proof that they are the ones who can claim this dependent and one of them will need to file an amended return, plus pay any additional taxes, penalties, and/or interest that may have resulted from the false claim.
Hi,
We have joint custody of my stepdaughter, pay child support, and she is on my husbands insurance. We have court ordered papers saying my husband get to claim her every year as a dependent AND earned income credit. Every year we have to paper file our taxes and wait because his ex is filing her taxes first and claiming earned income credit on her. (We get the credit for her after waiting) She has done this the last two years and we believe she claimed her again this year. So my question is, how long will this go on before the IRS flags her taxes (or something) so we don’t have to do this EVERY year. We talked to our accountant and were told that she will have to pay this money back, but why do they keep letting her claim her.
Thank You
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
She will have to pay this money back IF she is audited and/or IF the IRS eventually flags her. If this is affecting your tax return, I suggest contacting the IRS before filing to see how to prevent this from occurring again.
Magnificent website. Lots of helpful information here. I am sending it to some pals ans also sharing in delicious. And naturally, thanks on your effort!
My tax return was rejected. My son prepared his own taxes and did not mark that he can be claimed as a dependent and is a qualifying child on my return. His tax return was successfully filed on 01/25/15. He amended his tax return using 1040X on 01/28/15. What should i do? When i can i file my tax return? Thanks
By the way, my son is a full-time student.
Hi Jeanette,
You should be able to refile once you receive confirmation that your son’s return was successfully amended.
Thank you for your responce. My son’s amended return was received on 02/17/15 and it says to allow 8-12 weeks for processing. Do i have to wait until this is “completed” before mailing my return or can i send it now? I’m afraid that the IRS deadline is usually on or around April 15 and the 8 weeks date is 04/14/15 from 02/17/15. Thanks, Jenette
My ex and I are fighting for custody. We shared the kids last year but regardless of what schedule we were supposed to have, the kids spent more nights with me. I also provided 100% of their clothes and shoes and school supplies this year as he refused to buy them anything. I am also on disability and receive an income for them but it is not taxable. I make very littke money as all I do is babysit on the side. His AGI is higher than mine but his family is also telling me that he is somehow cheating and saying he actually made moren money last year so that he could claim them. He lives with his girlfriend but they both claimed their own kids and used different addresses so that they could both claim HOH. what is the address to mail a letter to the IRS and what can I provide to prove he is cheating? We have not yet established in court who should claim them when. He has been beating me to it every year and im fed up with it. I am the parent that enrolled them in school. For a few months last year we shared pretty close to 50/50 but the rest of the year I had them 5 days a week so total o had them more. I also just found out that he had his friends dad claim my children a few years ago when he didnt work and that man has never even met my kids. His refund has already been accepted. What can I do about all of this??? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Until now I didnt think i could do anything about it. I mailed in a form last year about fraud, I think maybe it was a 3949? But I never received anything back. He is not even on my oldest childs birth certificate. Is there anything that can be done for years that I was the one entitled but didnt file a paper return because I thought since he beat me to it that was just too bad? Also will a letter from school and all the receipts as well as their disability check information be enough proof? Thank you.
Hi Jennifer,
Even if your husband has submitted his tax return, you can paper file your return (this is prepared the same way as e-filing except you will print it out and mail it in instead of submitting online). With this return, you will need to submit a cover letter and the proof that you have to back up the fact that you should be claiming your children as dependents. This includes any receipts, doctor/dentist documents, etc. I also suggest attaching the court order in future tax years once you receive one.
The address to mail your paper return is listed on the IRS website based on your area.