I filed as Married Filing Separately in 2018. This tax return was used to determine my Covid-19 stimulus eligibility.
Apparently, the MFS status led to the IRS recording on my return that "Someone can claim your spouse as a dependent" even though neither of us checked that box on our returns (I looked at both returns). Is this an error on their part, or is this normal? This has caused my whole family (me, spouse, child) to be ineligible for the first stimulus checks.
I called the IRS, and they said I have to try to claim a credit on my 2020 return. When I do that, will they be using. my 2018, 2019 or 2020 tax return to determine eligibility? And if the IRS still has on my 2018 records that "Someone can claim your spouse as a dependent", why would anything change when I try to claim the credit if they still use that return to determine eligibility? Do I need to try to amend my 2018 tax return first, even though we never checked this box to begin with?
