Am I going to owe or get in trouble by IRS?

[crystal855]

So I claimed my best friends son as my nephew for 2 years and last year the IRS asked me for proof that he was my nephew.They wanted birth certificates, recites and a few other things such as a work log because I was working cash. However, I didn't send it because he isn't my nephew but I was taken care of him as they lived with me. So instead I was told by the person who did my taxes not to send the info or to file for that year. He also said to claim this year but with no dependencies. Am I going to owe the IRS or have issues if I file as head of household this year with no dependencies? 

[xmasbaby0]

You cannot file as HOH with no dependents.  Sounds like you created a little mess.

[DoninGA]

Maybe a big mess...Child tax credit and EIC both not allowed since they were not a Qualifying Child.

[crystal855]

I filed as head of household because I was taken care of her kids and they lived with me as well as she was not employed at the time.

[xmasbaby0]

You were not allowed to file as HOH. The dependents you claim for HOH have to be blood-related to YOU.

[crystal855]

Well according to some of the sites I just read it says the child does not have to be related to me. But that wasn't my question I was asking if I would owe IRS

[xmasbaby0]

You most likely will owe.  How much--????  If you got the child tax credit and/or earned income credit based on claiming that child, you have to pay it back.  You also got a higher standard deduction than you should have received--you should have filed single instead of HOH.  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this was a really big mistake.

[macuser_22]

"Well according to some of the sites I just read it says the child does not have to be related to me"   You read wrong or the site was wrong.   In some cases you can claim a *dependent* that is not related to you if that person lived with you the entire year and you supported him.    But for *Head of Household* not only does the person need to be a dependent, the person must be *related* to you in one of these ways:

    Your child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild). (A legally adopted child is considered your child.)

    -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 son or daughter of your half brother or half 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.

A nephew qualifies, a friend does not.

It would seem that you will owe back tax and possible penalties.

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

So it sounds like you claimed a non-relative as your dependent, and filed as Head of Household, thereby getting the child-related credits such as child tax credit, possible earned income credit, as well as the personal exemption for the dependent?  And then you relied on bad advice.."don't send the info or file for that year."

You need to amend your tax returns on which you falsely claimed the child was your nephew.  As for whether you could even claim the child as a dependent at all is shaky.  Did he live with you the entire year?  Did his parent(s) earn more than $4000?

You should actually seek paid local tax advice to straighten this out.  Do not go to the same person who advised you to sweep it under the rug and hide from it.

Here is some information on what Head of Household means, and then some information on how to amend.

Am I Head of Household?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894553-do-i-qualify-for-head-of-household https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2900097-what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

 To learn more about amending your tax return, please review the information in the following link.https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1908543-do-i-need-to-amend-my-tax-return

Click or tap a tax year for specific amending instructions.

·         2016

·         2015

·         2014

·         2013

Related Information:

·         What does it mean to "amend" a return?

·         Do I Need to Amend my Tax Return?

·         Will amending delay my original tax refund?

·         What is the deadline for filing an amended return?

·         Can I e-file my 1040X to amend my return?

[crystal855]

Yes, I claimed the child because he and his mother stayed with me and I was the only source of income. She even went and wrote a notarized letter stating they lived with me and I was supporting her son since he was born.

[DoninGA]

If the child lived with you for the entire year and you provided over one-half of their support then you could have claimed the personal exemption for the child under the Qualifying Relative rules.
But you could not file as Head of Household or claim any tax credits for that child since they were not related to you.

[crystal855]

& according to the info I read the child does not have to be related to me as long as they live with me. Not to mention at the time my best friend was dating my brother.

[crystal855]

Thank you DoninGA that helped a lot and crazy part is I never went physically to do my taxes, someone, I knew actually did it for me online because she works doing taxes.