Can I amend my taxes to remove my daughter as a dependent so that her father who I am unmarried to but live with can claim her?

[AnthonyC · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can.  You can begin by following the amendment instructions below to get started.  Click on the year and follow the prompts from there.  During the amendment process, you will want to go back into the Personal Info section and edit your dependent selection.

However, please note two things - 

1. You should wait to file an amended return until you have actually received your first refund (or if tax was due, wait 21 days from your file date).  The IRS recommends this to ensure that your original return doesn't contain any other errors that would require you to amend again. 
2. Amended returns take up to 16 weeks to process.  This means that the father is going to have to paper file his return this year as the e-file system will not update in time for him to file.  (Right now his return will be rejected if he tries to e-file with your daughters SSN on his return).

[shellbell430]

What if he already had filed as well? Can he amend his to be able to claim her?

[AnthonyC]

Yes, so he will just amend his return to include her - the opposite of what you are doing.  He will still have to paper file his amended return, but he will get whatever his original refund was supposed to be now.  You should both still wait until you receive your first refunds.  And then file the amendments.

[grc_4111]

Hello same situation here. Only that i e-filed and got rejected and mom got approved. She is going to amend and take off her dependant. So i can claim the dependant.  I just wanted to know how long should I wait to paper file my taxes after she amends hers?

[shmebbie]

did you get an answer for this? ^^  How long should you wait to file after the amendment is filed?

[grc_4111]

I didnt get an answer. But what i did was still file my taxes without my dependent. Then wait till we both get back our refunds. Then we are both going to amend afterwards. Seemed alot easier than having to wait.

[Gabbyb1801]

Did you have any trouble removing or adding a dependent when you both amended?

[Gabbyb1801]

Did this workout for you better? im going through the same situation i want to know if everything worked out for you @grc_4111 

[grc_4111]

Yes it worked out fine. After we got our refunds, we amended with no trouble adding or removing our dependent. Worked out good. 

[Newwillis2]

When you amended your taxes and received your refund, did they later send you another refund for your dependent?

[Pksmith2010]

How long did it take for you to amend your return?

[Denparr]

Can I amend an error on my taxes so that my daughter who is 22 is not claimed as a dependent  so that she can receive a stimulus cheque due to COVID-19?  

[LS13]

@Denparr I am thinking of doing the same. Have you had any progress on an answer? What are you going to do?

[JotikaT2]

Yes.

But be aware as IRS operations are limited due to Covid-19, it may take a while to process your amended returns.

IRS operations

Also, her dad will not be able to electronically file his return since your amend return will take a while to process. If he does receive an error with his e-file, he may also have to mail his return in to claim your daughter.

Attached are instructions on how to prepare an amended return. 

How to amend my return?