@Bonusmomma wrote:
no! I am the step mother
The birth mother WAS NOT supposed to claim child on anything! Child credit, dependents, nothing.
Both of the parents have 50/50. The father has a court order stating it is the fathers year to claim their child for 2022 taxes. The birth mother is not close to being the custodial parent, if anything the father and step mother are because the child is with us more each night every year.
Birth mother is not able to amend her taxes until February 16th from what turbo tax said, I am told I need to mail in the fathers taxes, court order and proof the child resides with the father and step mother more than birth mother.
First problem comment/concern: all that paperwork is probably going to be lost. Your mailed return is typed into the system by a low level clerk who might or might not scan your documents. The medium level person who will review the return 9 months from now may never see the documents.
Second problem comment/concern: Custody orders aren't proof of anything and aren't even accepted by the IRS for review if they were signed after 2008. The IRS only goes by where the child actually physically lived, regardless of any orders.
Third comment: if you are legally married to the child's parent, then you as a stepparent have the same legal right to claim a child as a dependent as a biological parent, it's not necessary to say "my spouse's child," it is "our child" for all legal and tax purposes.
If you have custody more than half the nights of the year, you don't need custody orders. You are the only parent with the automatic legal right to claim the child as a dependent. If the other parent claimed the child, you will be blocked from e-filing, so you need to print and mail your return. If the other parent amends their return to remove the child, there will be no conflict at the IRS and no reason to mail custody orders, letters, or proof of where the child lived. The problem simply will never occur.
If the other parent never corrects their return, you may get a letter in 9-12 months asking you to explain the situation and provide proof of where the child lived. You may get this letter even if you attach the same proof to your tax return, so at the very least you should keep copies. Personally, because the IRS is short-staffed, over-worked, and backlogged on paper returns, I would not attach anything extra when filing by mail, because of the risk it will get lost or otherwise delay processing your tax return. I would wait to send proof until it is asked for. (Remember that if the other parent amends their return, proof will never be asked for, and if the other parent does not amend their return, the proof will be needed 9-12 months from now when the return is analyzed by a specialist, the proof is not needed to approve your initial refund claim now.)
Good luck.
