Claiming Step children

[Shawn1523]

Couple questions. I filed my tax return this year and I listed my step son as my son by accident. He went back and forth from us to his actual dad which he lived with me and his mom for over half the year. Every year between us and his birth dad take turns claiming him. This year it’s our turn.

His mother doesn’t work so I’m claiming her as a dependent. 

I need to change it from son to step son but when I try too it doesn’t give me the option for step child just son or daughter. When I go back to previous screen and select other, it just gives me relatives like Nephew, aunt, grandchild etc etc. 

how do I change this or do I just leave him marked as son?

Question #2: if a couple give birth to a child from August through December, can they claim that infant/child on the tax return or do they have to wait a whole another year?

[Critter-3]

If you are married to his mother then you file a JOINT return with the mother ( a spouse can never be claimed as a dependent) then the term son is correct since he is the son of the spouse on the joint return.

Next,  if you married the mother, then the term step son is correct for income tax purposes even if you don't officially adopt the child  and  even if you divorce the mother in the future.  

[Critter-3]

Q2 ... a child that is born or dies during a tax year is considered living with you the ENTIRE year even if they were born 12/31  or died 1/1.   The program tells you this if you read the screens carefully. 

[Shawn1523]

So do I need to amend the return now or wait until the original is approved?

[Vanessa A]

You will need to wait until the original is approved before amending your return. 

[Hal_Al]

Q. I need to change it from son to step son?

A. No, you don't. For tax purposes, a step son is the same as son. Leave him marked as son. A step child is the child of your legal spouse.  If the child is only the child of your girlfriend, the rules are different .

Q.  if a couple give birth to a child from August through December, can they claim that infant/child on this year tax return?

A. Yes. When asked how long the child lived with you, answer all year.

Q. His mother doesn’t work so I’m claiming her as a dependent. Is that OK?

A.  It depends on whether you are  legally married to the mother. A spouse is never a dependent, but, you can file a joint return and get all the benefits of a dependent and much more. 

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit and student status test, a relationship test and a residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. The Other dependent (qualifying relative) credit is worth (up to) $500 per dependent and is non-refundable.  Your girl friend's child cannot be your QC.

A person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

1. Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year. Visitation with non-custodial parent does not count as time out of the household (but joint custody would).
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4700 (2023) ($4400 for 2022).
3. The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

He must have a US social security number or tax identification number (TIN)

In addition to the above requirements, to claim your boy/girlfriend's children, they must meet all of the above requirements and:
--- your girlfriend must not be required to file a return,
--- she does not file a return claiming the children

[Shawn1523]

Another question I have. When I filed and marked him as my son, his dad claimed him last year. So if his biological dad claimed him as a son one year and I claimed him as a son the following year, will that cause an audit? Trying to make sure i do this right and have all my ducks in a row so I don’t have any issues with IRS

[Hal_Al]

Q. So if his biological dad claimed him as a son one year and I claimed him as a son the following year, will that cause an audit?

A. Unlikely, but possible. Alternating claiming the child, between parents (including step parent) is common.  

[Shawn1523]

Any idea when they will approve the refund? They accepted it on Feb 3rd. It’s been 12 days. I know I have 21 days to expect it. Just wonder if it will be sooner or later 

[Hal_Al]

The latest is "late February". 

[Shawn1523]

My status went from being processed to still being processed. A refund date will be available…..etc etc 

what’s this mean?

[DawnC]

Some tax returns take longer to process than others for many reasons, including when a return:

• Is sent by mail
• Contains errors or is incomplete
• Needs further review in general
• Is affected by identity theft or fraud
• Was referred to the IRS by the bank due to suspicious activity
• Includes a claim filed for an Earned Income Tax Credit or an Additional Child Tax Credit. See Q&A below.
• Includes a Form 8379, Injured Spouse AllocationPDF, which could take up to 14 weeks to process

For the latest information on IRS processing timeframes, see our Processing Status Dashboard.   @Shawn1523 

[Shawn1523]

My status still says “it’s still being processed “ a refund date will be provided when available.

On my account transcript beside account balances, interest etc etc gives a date of February 26, 2024. It also says no return filed.  What does all this mean?

[KrisD15]

It means the IRS has your return and is working on it.

Nothing more and nothing less. You just need to wait. 

Refunds that include certain credits are released later than refunds without those credits even if they were all filed before Mid-February.

According to the IRS:

“If you claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), you can expect to get your refund by February 27 if:

• You file your return online
• You choose to get your refund by direct deposit
• We found no issues with your return”

HOWEVER-

You say the mother and biological father take turns claiming the child. 

Sometimes there's more to it than that. 

Normally the Custodial Parent (the parent the child lives with more than half the year) claims the child.

The Custodial Parent can give the other parent Form 8332 in which case the non-custodial parent can claim the child.

In your situation, if you supplied more than half the support for the mother and the child, you and the mother are not married, and the mother and child lived with you for more than half the year, you should be able to claim the child and mother as dependents. 

You have not indicated the filing status you used this year, Single, Married, or Head of Household?

You refer to this child as a "Step-Son" but you don't say if you are married to his mother. 

If you are married, you do NOT claim the mother as a dependent, she is your spouse. You file Married Filing Jointly and the son is your step-son.

If you are NOT married, the child is NOT a step-son. He could still be claimed as a dependent (as well as the mother), but not as your step-son. If this is the case, you would file Single. The unrelated child would not make you eligible to file head of Household.

If you are NOT married, the child is NOT a step-son but you also have a biological child born in 2023 whom you supply more than half their support and that child lives with you then both children (and mother) could still be claimed as dependents, and this biological child could make you eligible to file Head of Household. 

If you only have this one child in the home, the child is not related to you and you filed as Head of Household, that might be flagged. 

In this case, the IRS may notify you and make the change.

If the return is processed with no adjustments made by the IRS, you might need to amend your return. 

Info on Head of Household 

@Shawn1523