Should I send in my child's other parent's 1040X amended return that shows I can now claim child since they will process mine before his amended return?

[lou_renshaw]

Both parents are unmarried and live together.  I was going to claim the child as a dependent, and father took Head of Household and EIC.  We found we could not separate the child on taxes after the father sent his tax return in, and we will get back more if I claim the child as dependent, claim the EIC and the child tax credit.  Father is planning to amend his tax return.   I understand it takes up to 13 weeks to process an amended 1040X.  In the meantime, I will send mine in and, since they won't see the father's amended return first because his amended one will take longer to process, I'm afraid mine will be disallowed and then it will begin the audit process.   I thought maybe if I were to send in a signed copy of his 1040X with my tax return showing that the father is changing his filing status to single and returning the EIC credit, it would help avoid the problem of them simply disallowing mine and avoid an audit.  What do you think? 

If that is not a good idea, should I at least enclose an explanation saying he filed an Amended 1040X , that he changed his filing status and returned the EIC money he received, and give his social security number so they can cross-reference it?  Will my return be forgotten about if they have to wait for his to process?

Will this create a red flag for either of us taking Head of Household in the future?

Thanks!

[DawnC0 · Accepted solution]

Do not send the father's 1040X with your return.  The IRS will not hold up your return and will process it normally and issue you a full refund.  This happens often, and you are handling it correctly by claiming the child and mailing the return in.  The father claiming the child is only preventing you from e-filing.  His actions will not prevent the IRS from issuing you your full refund.  No explanation is necessary and including one may cause a delay.

Including the 1040X may cause a delay.  The IRS will expect one of you to amend their return.  If the other parent does not do this, the IRS will follow up.  It is important that the father amends his return and pay any additional tax owed before 04/18/2017.  If he waits, he will be subject to interest and penalties.  

[lou_renshaw]

Thanks Dawn, should I include an explanation with the father's social security number saying he is amending?

[DawnC0]

You can, but it is not necessary.   If he doesn't file the amendment, the IRS will contact both of you to determine who should claim the child.  But since he will file the amendment, the IRS will not get to that point.

[lou_renshaw]

Thanks!  You're the best!

[jacob_simmons93]

@lou_renshaw @TurboTaxDawnC  this just happened to me so @lou_renshaw I want to know what happened with yours. My boyfriend and I live together and he us claiming the kids and head of household this year. We filed mine yesterday and our kids information was still on mine and even though I didn’t claim them as a dependent they showed up on my Earned income credit. My boyfriend’s return was rejected from E-filing today since he claimed them as dependents and onthe earned income credit. I’m going to file an amendment for mine this week. Should we go ahead and mail his in or do we have to wait until my return is amended? Any help is appreciated because I’m getting so many different stories.

[jacob_simmons93]

@lou_renshaw @TurboTaxDawnC  this just happened to me so @lou_renshaw I want to know what happened with yours. My boyfriend and I live together and he us claiming the kids and head of household this year. We filed mine yesterday and our kids information was still on mine and even though I didn’t claim them as a dependent they showed up on my Earned income credit. My boyfriend’s return was rejected from E-filing today since he claimed them as dependents and onthe earned income credit. I’m going to file an amendment for mine this week. Should we go ahead and mail his in or do we have to wait until my return is amended? Any help is appreciated because I’m getting so many different stories.

[DawnC0]

You can mail his now; the IRS will process it normally.  You just need to amend your return, removing the children completely by April 17, 2018.  But don't do your amendment until after you get your refund; that avoids further complications.  If you owe money back, just make sure it is paid by April 17, 2018.  This is a common issue and easily resolved; don't panic!

[jacob_simmons93]

@TurboTaxDawnC  thank you so much!

[DawnC0]

You are most welcome!

[thompson1453]

@TurboTaxDawnC
The same thing happened to me. My fiancé was filing his taxes and when it asked about our son, he clicked that he had an agreement with the mother and that the mother was claiming him for taxes. He submitted his taxes and they were approved. I went to file for mine, and it rejected me and said that he was already claimed. My fiancé didn’t delete him as a dependent and it appears he showed up on his EIC , even though he stated he wasn’t claiming him. So I should send my tax returns in through the mail, and then I’ll get my full return back. And then my fiancé should wait until he gets his full return back in a couple weeks to amend his? You said if he owes money to have it paid back by April 17, 2018. I read the amending process can take 13 weeks. Does that give him enough time to have it paid back in time?

[DawnC0]

Everything you said is correct.  As for the amendment, you will know the amount prior to mailing it off, so include any payment when you mail the 1040X.  Even though it may it may take months to process, the payment will be considered as 'received on time' if postmarked by 04/17/2018.

[thompson1453]

@TurboTaxDawnC
Thanks so much! We downloaded his taxes and our son IS NOT listed as a dependent on his exemptions. However, when he entered his SSN, it filed him to receive EIC, which he should not have received since we live in the same household and only 1 parent can claim all benefits for him. He "partially" claimed benefits it seems and did not receive a child tax credit back under the exemption section as he didn't claim him as his dependent. I have read a lot of contradicting information on when I will receive my tax returns back. Will I receive mine back right away after they've been processed, or will we have to wait for his amend to be processed before I can get my tax refund back?

[DawnC0]

You will get your refund in the normal time, pretty quickly.  They will send your refund and deal with the amendment later.  Just make sure he pays any $$ due with his amendment by 04/17.  They will not hold up your return, at all.  This happens more often than you would believe;)

[thompson1453]

@TurboTaxDawnC  I'm sure it does! I was very skeptical when it asked my fiance for my sons SSN, but he said it was fine because he stated that the mother was claminig him. Turns out, that section is only for people who are divorced or haven't lived together in the past 6 months. They really should fix that question/word it better! Very misleading and when looking at his taxes, it showed he wasn't claiming him under exemptions so we thought it looked good.