If someone
else has claimed your child as a dependent that lived with them for more than
half the year, you would not be able to efile with the head of household filing
status, the earned income credit, or the child and dependent care credit.
The IRS
would still reject your e-filed return because whoever claimed the dependent,
has reported to the IRS that the child was with them for more than half of the
year. Due to this fact, the IRS will not accept an e-filed return from you that
uses your daughter to claim any of these tax benefits (EIC, HOH filing status,
Child and Dependent Care Credit).
If the
child lived with the other person for more than half of the year, you must file
single. If the child lived with you for more than half of the year, you have a
few options:
The other
options you have are as follows:
- You can
e-file single and not claim any information about your daughter. This
keeps any issues for the other person.
- You can mail your return and claim head of
household, earned income credit, and the child and dependent care care
credit. If you have documentation, you will get the best return.
FYI. If
you use option 2 or 3, the IRS will write to you and the other person and
require you both provide documentation to prove the child's residency with you.
You will need to send a collection of the following:
- Rent receipts
- Utility bills
- School records for your child
(if applicable)
- Doctors notes, or a pastors
note.
- Notes from neighbors, or third
party people that the child lives with you
- Anything you can come up with
the proves the child was with you.
