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 ex girl friend who does not work let her mother claim my three children on her taxes the children live with me and have always lived with me how can I fight this so I can claim them on my taxes
The IRS had strict tie-breaker rules to determine which parent or guardian gets to claim a dependent. If your girlfriend’s mom claimed your dependents on her return and it was already accepted by the IRS, you will not be able to e-file your return with the same dependents. If you wish to dispute her claim, you can paper-file your return with your dependents. The IRS may ask that you include a cover letter explaining your situation to them as well as evidence proving that you have the right to claim the dependents. It would be best to contact the IRS on 1-800-829-1040 regarding this issue.
I been taking care of my two children and working all year and the mother filed them and never worked a day in two years I have the children living with me but I think she filed them already, how do I stop her fake taxes and file the children??
Hi Arthur,
This is not out of the ordinary for the IRS to deal with. The first step is to paper-file your return instead of e-filing so that your return is not automatically rejected if she did file already and claimed the dependent children. The IRS will need to reach out to you (by mail) to request additional information regarding proof that you are the custodial parent and the parent who should be claiming your children as dependents. Typically, they will request documents such as school records, dental/medical records, birth certificates, etc. The IRS tends to act on straightforward facts in these cases. Court letters can apply IF the other qualifications are met to claim the dependents for tax purposes.
If my sister was claiming me & she want to claim me again but my boyfriend wants to claim me but my sister said I got to wait for this year , will she get in trouble???
Hi Michelle,
Chances are, only one of them is actually qualified to claim you as a dependent based on IRS rules. In order to claim a qualifying relative dependent, the following must be met:
– Not a Qualifying Child: The individual cannot be your Qualifying Child and cannot be someone else’s Qualifying Child. They are a Qualifying Child if they meet all the requirements, whether or not they are claimed as a dependent.
– Relationship: The person must either have lived with you for the entire year as a member of the household (a person who is not actually related to you may meet the requirements in this way), or be related to you in one of the following ways: your child, stepchild, grandchild or other descendant of one of your children (or stepchildren or foster children), son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, parent, stepfather, stepmother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, grandparent, and, if related by blood, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew. Remember that a child whom you legally adopted is always considered to be your child. Also note that, for the purposes of this requirement, divorce or death does not change any relationship which was established by marriage (e.g. son-in-law, daughter-in-law, etc.)
– Gross Income: The person must have made less than $4,000 in gross income during 2016.
– Support: You must have provided more than half of the individual’s total support during the year.
I was a foster parent. I have 2 children. One who is mine, and the other who a foster child. I got a letter from the IRS stating that i should never have filed my tax return for the foster child only for my bio child. Due to someone adopted the foster child and she was not in my house for about 2 years. I made an error and put her on my taxes (the foster child), now i am getting a letter from the IRS stating i have to do a 1040X and pay the money back.
Will i have to mail in my tax return for this year 2016?, and will they take whatever refund that i get?
Hi Suzanne,
If you file your 2016 return before addressing the notice sent to you by the IRS, then they could apply your 2016 refund to the amount you owe for the prior tax year. I suggest filing your amended tax return and paying the amount owed back first. Then file your 2016 tax return and claim the entire refund.
My daughter’s father wants to claim our child on taxes this year, but he has never filed taxes. I dont want him to claim our child because i am. She doesn’t live with him and if he files our child on taxes can i report him for fraud even though he has her birth certificate and social security card?
Hi Aylice,
I’m sorry to hear what you’re experiencing. It’s important to know that this is very common in the tax world. That being said, the IRS has pretty strict guidelines in their determinations. The first step is determining which parent is able to claim the child according to IRS rules. When doing so, keep in mind that the IRS and the courts have different viewpoints. While the court is able to hear you out; opinions, facts and everything in between, the IRS does not have the man power to do that. The IRS bases their determination on facts and documents. Take a look at this article about determining which parent should claim the dependent child. Once you’ve made this determination, you can check out this article which discusses how to handle a situation where the parent who shouldn’t claim the dependent does anyways.