topic Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali... in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent? Tax year 2013

david-c-glenn — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 14:23:18 GMT

My parents claimed me as a dependent for their taxes in the year 2013. I am a 21 years old and not in school. I lived with them January 2013 but have since lived on my own in another state and they have provided me with no financial support except for paying for my health insurance through my father's employer's program. I do not believe I qualify as a dependent and therefor e-filed my taxes which were rejected because my parent's filed theirs fist. What are my options now? I believe my father has knowingly claimed me as a dependent wrongly but do not want cause any criminal action or auditing to come about. What are my options?

Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali...

BarbL — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:02 GMT

Hello-

The IRS has two categories of dependents: Qualifying Child and Qualifying Relative. If you are 21 y/o and not a full-time student, they cannot claim you as a qualifying child. This leaves only the qualifying relative option.

The requirements to claim you as a qualifying relative are:

- You must be unmarried (or if married, not file a joint return).

- You must be a U.S. citizen.

- You are not the qualifying child of anyone else.

- You must either live with them as a member of the household all year -or- be related to the taxpayer.

- You must have gross income less than $3,900.

- They must provide more than half your support during the year.

If you made more than $3,900 last year, they are automatically disqualified from claiming you as a dependent. That's the simplest thing to prove, and the IRS will be able to verify it quite easily. You will not be in trouble for filing and claiming yourself, as you are legally allowed to do so. They will not be in any legal trouble either, but will be required to re-pay any portion of their refund they received by claiming you.

I wouldn't go so far as to say the software allowed them to do it, they could have entered incorrect information or filed using another method. The bottom line is that they filed before you.

My recommendation is to claim yourself, then print and mail your tax return. If you made more than $3,900, the IRS will allow you to claim yourself. Your refund may be delayed a bit, but that's all. They will then contact your parents and let them know they need to repay a portion of their refund. It will really be quite simple, but will take a bit longer than if you had been able to e-file.

I hope this is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions.

I have gone through something similar and heard that I wi...

bogarver — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:05 GMT

I have gone through something similar and heard that I will only get my tax return when (if) my parents pay theirs back to the IRS. Knowing my parents it is all spent by now so I am afraid that I will never receive my tax return. Is that true or simply a rumor?

You picked a four year old thread to post your question t...

xmasbaby0 — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:07 GMT

You picked a four year old thread to post your question to. If you should not have been claimed as a dependent then you can file your return by printing, signing and mailing it, since you cannot e-file once someone has claimed you and used your SSN. If your parents claimed you when they should not have, then they need to amend their own tax return. Eventually both of you will hear from the IRS to sort out if you could be claimed as a dependent.

Hello david.c.glenn, My name is Ivan, and I would...

IvanC — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:10 GMT

Hello david.c.glenn,

My name is Ivan, and I would be happy to assist you today. These are your options:

- Asking your parents to amend there return and delete you as a dependent. If they agree to do so, you can e-file your taxes claiming yourself, once there amended return is accepted.

- You can file a paper return claiming yourself, and the IRS will conduct an investigation to see who should rightfully claim the dependency.

- Or, you can file your return stating "someone else can claim me". The IRS will take that as consent to your parents claiming you.

I hope this helps, and thank you for contacting TurboTax!

- Ivan

Can my parent's legally claim me as a dependent? If not,...

david-c-glenn — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:11 GMT

Can my parent's legally claim me as a dependent? If not, will I be under any legal penalty for knowingly allowing him to wrongly claim me as a dependent?

The software would have let your parents know if you qual...

IvanC — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:49:13 GMT

The software would have let your parents know if you qualified or not. You may no longer qualify for a child tax credit, but the qualifications on a dependent are slightly different. So, in conclusion, if the software allowed them to claim you as a dependent, it would seem appropriate to assume you met the qualifications. If you don't meet the qualifications, it is possible your parents falsified information pertaining to that credit. This would only cause possible penalties for them, not for you. Again, that is, if they falsified information. Below is a link on dependent qualifications.
<a href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894472-who-is-a-dependent" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894472-who-is-a-dependent</a>

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

Boahemaayaa — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 16:14:50 GMT

How can I remove my parents from my claim.since they file without my notice

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

Critter — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 16:19:18 GMT

You do not "remove" anything parent related ... if you no longer qualify as their dependent you simply file your own return and indicate NO ONE will claim you even if they did. Then tell your folks why you are not their dependent and tell them you will be claiming yourself. If they have already filed and you were rejected then your only choice is to mail in your return to assert your right to claim yourself.

BUT ... are you sure you are not a dependent ?

Here are the complete rules for Claiming an Exemption for a Dependent:

Tests ALL dependents must pass ......

- You cannot claim any dependents if you, or your spouse if filing jointly, could be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer.

- You cannot claim a married person who files a joint return as a dependent unless that joint return is only a claim for refund and there would be no tax liability for either spouse on separate returns.

- You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.

- You cannot claim a person as a dependent unless that person is your qualifying child or qualifying relative.

Requirements to be a Qualifying Child:

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.
The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a full-time student and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.
The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year (except for temporary absences such as for school)
The child must not have provided more than half of his or her support for the year.
The child is not filing a joint return for the year (unless that
return is filed only as a claim for refund).
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.

Requirements to be a Qualifying Relative:

1. The person cannot be your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer.

The person either (a) be related to your in one of the following ways:
Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them
Your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister.
Your father, mother, grandparent, or other direct ancestor, but not foster parent.
Your stepfather or stepmother.
A son or daughter of your brother or sister.
A brother or sister of your father or mother.
Your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
or (b) must live with you all year as a member of your household (and your relationship must not violate local law … which means no in Mississippi & Michigan).
The person's gross income for the year must be less than $4,000 for 2015 ($4,050 for 2016) (social security benefits do not count).
You must provide more than half of the person's total support for the year.

There is a very good worksheet to help you determine how much support you provide. It is on page 16 of IRS Pub. 501
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

macuser_22 — Sat, 21 Dec 2019 16:23:19 GMT

@Boahemaayaa wrote:

How can I remove my parents from my claim.since they file without my notice

@Boahemaayaa - You cannot. If they were legally entitled to claim you then they can - not notice to you is required. By tax law, you are not entitled to claim yourself of another taxpayer *can* claim yiu whether they actually claim you or not.

If they were not entitled to claim you then they need to amend and remove you. If they do nor amend then just file your own proper return. The IRS will send letters to both taxpayers asking for proof that they can claim you to them and proof from you that they cannot claim you. The IRS will decide.

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

bunnywu04 — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 05:55:48 GMT

You said the tax return may be delayed a little bit to get it? How king will it take to get it since it’s mailed in ? Weeks days

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

Critter — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 13:28:36 GMT

Mailed in returns usually process in about 6 weeks ... but with the current situation expect it to take much longer.

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

Daissy_dr — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 04:26:18 GMT

I have a follow up question. So the exact same thing happened to me. My parents claimed me as a dependent while I filed as a independent. Both of our taxes got rejected so we had to re-file them the correct way. I am waiting patiently to see if I made the deadline to receive a stimulus check. The problem with my case is that on the 2018 taxes I was a dependent so I wouldn’t benefit off of the stimulus checks being sent out very soon. Can anyone help with answers ?

Re: My parents wrongly claimed me as dependent?

Itsmyraa — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 02:32:30 GMT

It doesn’t matter what you were in 2018 it matters what you are now 2019. They don’t go based off what u were in 2018 only based off the bank account info you had. That’s why they are mentioning 2018 so much because that’s how far back they will go based on the the pay information. You are good

Re: Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali...

Jpeyton5 — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 12:32:15 GMT

This is great advice! What do I do if I already changed my tax return to “someone can claim me” and sent it in? The same thing happened to me where I didn’t even know my dad was going to claim me, and then my return got rejected. Since he was able to claim me, I thought it was legit and changed mine. Now I can’t even get money from the stimulus bill because of this! Is it too late to change my tax return?

Re: Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali...

Lucky1InTexas — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 13:37:19 GMT

I have the same question. We (the parents) filed claiming our son as a dependent. We filed first, not knowing our son's precise income. Turns out he made just over the threshold to NOT be a dependent. His return was rejected since ours was already filed, so he changed his to conform to ours...not knowing that the stimulus payment hinged upon that. Now what do we do? Do we both file 1040X returns to amend? Will the IRS catch the mistake (based on his income being too high) and ask us to correct and refile? My understanding of the 1040X process is that it's entirely paper-based -- no e-file capability -- which takes 8 to 12 weeks to process. Will stimulus checks still be distributed by that point? Please help. Not sure what to do!

Re: Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali...

macuser_22 — Thu, 16 Apr 2020 14:30:31 GMT

@Lucky1InTexas wrote:

I have the same question. We (the parents) filed claiming our son as a dependent. We filed first, not knowing our son's precise income. Turns out he made just over the threshold to NOT be a dependent. His return was rejected since ours was already filed, so he changed his to conform to ours...not knowing that the stimulus payment hinged upon that. Now what do we do? Do we both file 1040X returns to amend? Will the IRS catch the mistake (based on his income being too high) and ask us to correct and refile? My understanding of the 1040X process is that it's entirely paper-based -- no e-file capability -- which takes 8 to 12 weeks to process. Will stimulus checks still be distributed by that point? Please help. Not sure what to do!

Yes you must both amend, you to remove the dependent, and him to claim himself. (Assuming that he is over age 18 and not a full-time student under age 24 - then his income does not matter in most cases.)

Amended returns can take up to 16 weeks (4 months) to process in normal times but due the the Corona virus shutdown the IRS is not even opening mailed returns at this time and just storing them so the 16 weeks will not even start until the IRS returns to normal - whenever that will be - and there will be a huge backup of mail.

Amended returns can only be mailed. It is suggested that it be mailed certified with return receipt (or other tracking service) to verify that the IRS receives it.

See this TurboTax FAQ for detailed amend instructions:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed

You can check the status of the amended return here, but allow 3 weeks after mailing.

https://www.irs.gov/filing/wheres-my-amended-return

Re: You picked a four year old thread to post your question t...

aj64 — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 02:26:22 GMT

ya know, this thread being 4 years old is irrelevant if the data is still correct and current. Yes, your reply is helpful to folks, but also condescending. It's very cool and I am thankful for those that both ask the questions and especially those that reply with good quality information. In short, please leave out the superfluous information. Your good deed and helpfulness don't get the value they deserve.

Thanks for your help and understanding,

Re: You picked a four year old thread to post your question t...

macuser_22 — Sat, 18 Apr 2020 02:51:04 GMT

@aj64 wrote:

ya know, this thread being 4 years old is irrelevant if the data is still correct and current. Yes, your reply is helpful to folks, but also condescending. It's very cool and I am thankful for those that both ask the questions and especially those that reply with good quality information. In short, please leave out the superfluous information. Your good deed and helpfulness don't get the value they deserve.

Thanks for your help and understanding,

aj

The question was asked yesterday an hour before I provided an answer. Yes, the original thread is old, but that is the nature of this forum - many posters find old questions and add-on with a new question.

Exactly what is "condescending"?

Re: Hello- The IRS has two categories of dependents: Quali...

TLmaar — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 04:04:05 GMT

I have the same situation my parents claimed me as a dependent Without telling me for 2019 taxes. they have a house that they live in And I have a home that I was living in. I owned my home I paid Cash in full cash for it In Dec, 2018 and sold it in Dec 2019. They Helped me out financially from around June to December Until the house sold while I was still living in it then I paid them back all the money they loaned me out so were they Still able to turn around and claim me as a dependent saying that They paid all my household expenses and supported me when in reality they got it all back? I know I don’t know if I’m able to collect the stimulus check. I’m 57 years old and waiting for four years for Social Security To get with the program. I’m 75% disabled from work injury w rods and screws in my spine this is a nightmare I don’t even know if I should’ve filed taxes on the sale of the house I lost 15,000 when I sold it. SeemsLike the money from the sale of the house should’ve been considered income so that might’ve been too much for them to claim me as a dependent as well. Any advise?