topic Hello, my wife was living with her parents from Jan 1-July 17, then married me and moved out. They claimed her as a dependent? So this is causing issues on my tax return. in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Hello, my wife was living with her parents from Jan 1-July 17, then married me and moved out. They claimed her as a dependent? So this is causing issues on my tax return.

mrblovesgod — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:46:30 GMT

Re: Hello, my wife was living with her parents from Jan 1-July 17, then married me and moved out....

Vanessa A — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:21:54 GMT

If they provided more than half of her support for the entire year and she meets the criteria below to be considered their dependent , then you would need to select on your return that your wife is claimed as a dependent on someone else's return. This would allow you to submit your return electronically.

You could also file as Married Filing a Separate Return, however, this may cause you not to qualify for certain credits such as the Earned Income Credit.

If they did not provide more than half of her support for the year or if she no longer meets the criteria to be a dependent on their return, you will need to print and mail your return so the IRS can manually process it. If her SSN is already used on their return, your return will be rejected unless she lists she is a dependent so e-filing is not an option.

If you were filing a joint return that was not just to claim a refund, then they cannot claim her but you will still need to print and mail your return

If she is not eligible to be their dependent, then they should amend their return to remove her.

The following criteria must be met to claim someone as a qualifying child:

Your child (including adopted and foster children), your sibling, or a descendent of any of them.
Age 18 or younger at the end of the tax year OR under 24 (and younger than you and your spouse) if they are a full-time student
Lived with you for more than 6 months during the tax year
They did not provide more than half of their own support
They did not file a joint return, unless it was to claim a refund

@mrblovesgod

(Edited 3/9/2022 @6:20AM PST)

Re: Hello, my wife was living with her parents from Jan 1-July 17, then married me and moved out. They claimed her as a dependent? So this is causing issues on my tax return.

ee-ea — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:48:19 GMT

File on paper

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/printing/help/how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online/00/26258

Re: Hello, my wife was living with her parents from Jan 1-July 17, then married me and moved out. They claimed her as a dependent? So this is causing issues on my tax return.

Opus 17 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:55:10 GMT

First note, even if she lived there more than half the year, she can't legally be claimed as a dependent unless she also:

a. was under age 19, or

b. was under age 24 while also being a full-time student, or

c. was any age but her parents provided more than half her financial support for the whole year AND she has less than $4300 of taxable income.

Second note, if she chooses to file a joint return, that overrides the parents' ability to claim her as a dependent, even if she otherwise qualifies to be claimed as a dependent. In that case, you will have to file by mail.

Or, you can file 2 returns as married filing separately. You only report your income and deductions on your return and she reports her income and deductions on her return. On her separate return, she would check the box for "I can be claimed as a dependent by someone else." Whether this helps or hurts you financially would have to be tested.