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.
Im trying to help my mom, sister and a couple other families out they are trying to find out how they can see if someone that helped them with their taxes claimed or added them when they filed their taxes because the person that helped them has done it before to other people they helped will they just need to contact the IRS?
Hi Ana,
The quickest and most effective way to find out if this is true is to contact the IRS directly. Keep in mind that you will need to give them a brief reasoning as to why you are requesting this information. Also, they most likely will not be able to give you any personal information as to who did claim these people you are inquiring about. This should give you a good idea if it was the person you suspect.
My husband has a court order to claim child on odd years, however when we went to file the child was already claimed. We paper filed with a cover letter and a copy of the court order. My question is what happens when we are awarded the dependent and the mother has already received her refund? Does she have to pay this back for falsely filing? Thanks
Hi Leslie,
Just as your husband provided proof that he is to claim the child as a dependent, the IRS will in turn, request that the mother provide sufficient proof. If she is unable to do so and your husband’s proof is enough, then the mother who claimed the dependent will be issued a tax bill from the IRS. She’ll need to pay this back before claiming another refund from the IRS.
The IRS STILL
CAN NOT TELL YOU WHO SPECIFICALLY DID IT RIGHT?
Do they just tell you that someone already did???
Or i can find out the name?
Hi Carmen,
Unfortunately, the IRS won’t disclose any personal information for a different account other than your own.
i recencly went into a bad break with my gf but we have a 5month baby
i recently claim her in my taxes without her concent reason why i have been taking care of my dauther and doing alot more for her i took her to the clinic got her her shots everything under my name ive been taking lots of responsibilities for my daugther and that proof is there , and my ex havent provided anything with her
my question is what would be the outcome if she finds out and she files a re tax on me , would the irs billed me or not?
Hi Anthony,
The IRS faces many discrepancies between parents who both want to claim the same dependent, which is why the tax decision made will be based on facts. That being said, if both you and the child’s mother claim the dependent, the second return filed will be rejected. Both you and the mother will be given the chance to amend your returns with one of you not claiming the child. If one of you does not amend your return, the IRS will request that you both provide proof that you are the one who can claim the child as a dependent. With this, a determination will be made based on the proof provided. With no court order, the custodial parent is the one who can claim the child as a dependent on taxes. Bear in mind that this process can end up being time-consuming.
Hello, if I have a court ordered plan and it states my husband and I swap years filing our children but the father did it anyways again this year…I spoke with him and he claims that he took the child off his taxes after they were already filed? Is that possible that he took the child off after it was filed?
Hi Stacey,
It is possible that he amended his tax return and updated his information to not include claiming a dependent. To be safe, I suggest paper-filing your tax return with the IRS. You can still prepare it as you normally would. Just print, sign and mail it to the IRS instead of e-filing it. With your return, include a cover letter explaining the situation a bit with sufficient documentation (ie: a copy of the court order) to prove you are the eligible parent to claim the child as a dependent.
My sister claimed my daughter without my permission. When I found out about it through my mom, my sister & I weren’t on speaking terms so I told my mom I didn’t appreciate her doing that behind my back & my mom said she told her to & for me to wait until she gets the [refund] money to get it from her. Now that she has received the return, my sister isn’t giving me the money. She claims it’s not my daughters money & that she has rights to keep it because she paid on the bills last year & because I stopped working after having my baby during that time but I still bought my kids what they needed & bought food with what little money I had.
Hi Marith,
Tax-wise, you can still file a tax return and claim your daughter a dependent. What you’ll need to do is paper file your tax return instead of e-filing (amend the original return if you filed a return already). Include a cover letter explaining the situation along with proof as to why you are able to claim your child. My suggestion would be to ONLY include the facts of the situation. The IRS will not take into account the emotional factors of the circumstances when making the final decision. You should include documents for your daughter including medical/dental paperwork, a birth certificate, school records, court orders, etc. Your sister will be asked to proved proof as well. The IRS will base their decision on both returns and the proof provided. If they make their decision in favor of you claiming the child, then your sister will be issued a tax bill.