My entire return was offset. Claimed son & filed HOH. If I amend return & file Single & his father amends & claims him will he be granted the $ that was offset?

[chandlerpaxtell]

My entire return was offset due to defaulted student loans. I was really counting on my tax return to start paying off debt including, ironically, my student loans. I claimed my son as HOH. If I amend my return and file Single, and his father amends and claims him and files HOH, will he receive the money I would have gotten for our son?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

It depends.  He would first have to be qualified to claim your son for those benefits, meaning that he must be living with you.  If he is, you can each amend.  The problem is, though, that you will end up owing.  The IRS, by offsetting your refund, essentially "issued" your refund (paid it).  Thus, if you amend, you will have to pay back the refund you are no longer claiming, even though you never saw the money originally.

This still might be worth doing if your son's father can also claim your son and gets a bigger benefit on his tax return than what you did on yours.  But there is a very good chance that that's not the case.  

Ultimately the decision will be yours but it's fair for you to know the consequences of the decision.