Kids... they sometimes do the darndest things.

[jmacnd81]

So, my oldest son hired a tax "pro" whom he also lives with. She's doing this for him for free. I feel that straddles the line of some ethics violations, but it's the United States... whatever.

Backstory - We kicked him out on November of 2020 because he wasn't behaving, so he moved in with a friend's mom (against our wishes). He started a job at the firm that I work at (thanks to me leading him to the position) and made a boatload of money for four months (August to early December). 

Back in December, I stated to my kid via text that I intended to file him as a dependent, and at that time he said "I am using a tax pro for free, whatever."

So fast forward to January. I file him as a dependent as I believed that I ticked all of the legal boxes to be able to do so. I learn a week or two ago that my son's e-file was kicked back to him because I claimed him as a dependent, and his preparer filed him as independent. He told me that she was going to manually file and force the IRS to iron out the contention. She said that potential stimulus money that she could win for him was "icing on the cake" but she was really going after the exemption for his independence status more than anything. 

I spoke with said preparer, she was adversarial and demanded that I provide proof that I provided more than half of the support in 2020. She can't legally provide me that info, not sure why she expected anything from me.

So, today, I noticed that my EIP 3 (third stimulus) was only about half of what it should be given my married status and having 4 kids. Even if we excluded my oldest son, it's way below that. Does this indicate that my account/return for 2020 has been flagged as fraudulent, or am I missing something? Of course, the IRS is extremely busy and I can't get into my online account either. Any pros out there see this happen to their clients?

[macuser_22]

How old is he?  Is he a full time student?

[jmacnd81]

He was 17 until July of 2020, and he was a full time student in High School. Not college though.

[macuser_22]

If he lived with you for more than half the year (more then 183 days) in 2020 then he could be your "Qualifying Child" dependent. 

Support is not an issue as long as he did not pay more than half of his *own* support for all of 2020.    It does not matter where his support came from as long as he did  not pay it.  (See the support worksheet below).

---Tests To Be a Qualifying Child---
(Must pass ALL of these tests)

NOTE: If a child passes all of these tests he must say “yes” on his/her own tax return (if he/she files one) that another taxpayer CAN claim him/her as a dependent even if they DO NOT claim him/her)

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.

2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of 2020, (b) under age 24 at the end of 2020 and a full-time student* for any part of 5 months of 2020, or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled and must be younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly).

3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year (There are exceptions for temporary absences such as school, illness, business, vacation, military service).

4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
See Worksheet 3-1. Worksheet for Determining Support
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17#en_US_2020_publink1000171012

5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.

6. The child is not filing a joint return.

7. The child must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico

*A full-time student is a student who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full-time attendance during some part of each of any 5 calendar months of the year.

See IRS Publication 17 for more information.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17

[jmacnd81]

Thank you for your very detailed reply. Yes, I have reviewed the worksheet and I know my numbers, but I don't know his... and he's refusing to communicate and defers to his "paid tax preparer." Of course, said preparer is bound by confidentiality laws. I explained to her the points below and she said "If you can't prove to me that you've paid more than 1/2 of his support, then I will file him as independent and let the IRS work it out. Expect a letter from the IRS." How does she know for certain that her numbers overwhelm mine? Isn't it a gamble for her to submit this claim not knowing my financial status and contributions? Is there any accountability on her end for this decision? Surely she can't just re-file manually without his consent... right?

I don't like to sit around waiting for the unknown. What are the next steps? The IRS is busy, so I can't really contact them right now. When is it pertinent to retain a lawyer specializing in tax contention to protect myself from the potential of this whole deal going sideways? It kind of stinks that my son has decided to take a less mature route to working with me as our relationship was OK since he moved out until a few weeks ago... but these are the cards I'll have to play with at this time.

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

If she is a tax preparer then she should know that *you* do not have to supply *any* support at all for a "Qualifying Child" dependent.

A "Qualify Relative" then yes you must pay  more then half of his support but his gross income for 2020 could not be more then$4,300 or he would not qualify.

Since he a a minor child under age 18 then your problem is more of a legal issue  than a tax issue, and we cannot give legal advice.  I suggest that you discuss this with a family law attorney.