Rejection because other parent filed EIC but not child tax credit

[starla4206]

My boyfriend and I both had custody of our son the whole year. I am claiming him this year but he accidentally got the EIC deduction for our child. How can I still claim my child but not the EIC?

[eaglesfan80]

Also I already tried filing my taxes and they were rejected because my son's SSN was already used for EIC this year

[Opus 17]

@eaglesfan80 does my answer below also answer your situation? Or is your situation different?

[eaglesfan80]

No your answer covered my situation exactly. We are unmarried living together. I unfortunately was not aware that both of us could not get the EIC and when he filed his taxes, he got the EIC but not the Child Tax Credit so we will probably end up having to amend his return so we get our maximum refund. Thank you for your reply!

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

You can't split the dependent benefits in the case of two unmarried parents living together.  (There is a question that asks, "do you have a custody agreement with the other parent?" You have to answer No in the case of unmarried parents living together.  That question only applies to divorced or separated parents who live apart and share custody.)  Either you or your BF has to claim all the benefits. 

At this point, if you paid more than half the household expenses, you can claim the child as a full dependent including EIC and head of household, and print your return to mail it in.  Your BF will have to file an amended return to remove the child and pay back most of his refund that was due to the child (EIC, credits, etc.)

Or, you can file as single with no dependent, and your BF can amend to claim the child as a full dependent and get the exemption and the credit as a second refund.

[macuser_22]

The child should only be on one of your tax returns if you all live together.    Only one parent can claim the child and all benefits.   The dependent should be deleted from the other parents tax return.

[kcubias714]

Same situation happened with my girlfriend and I will she still get her full refund with the child credit and eic credit?

[Opus 17]

If you live together and share custody, one parent gets to claim the child and all tax benefits and the other parent can't claim anything.  The parent who is not going to claim the child should remove the child from their tax return completely, delete them from the dependent screen.  

The parent who is going to claim the child should review how they answered the questions -- if they answered that they will share the dependent with the other parent, then they probably did not claim full benefits, and might get more back if they amended and changed their answers.

But we can't see your actual tax files.  You would need to post more details about your personal situation.

[kcubias714]

I inserted daughters social on my return without claiming her it approved me for eic credit then my girlfriend tried to file taxes claiming our daughter and they got rejected by  e file so we had to mail them in I will amend my taxes to remove daughters social but will my girlfriend get her full refund or do I have to amend before she can receive her refund?

[macuser_22]

Both.  You most amend to remove the dependent total from your tax return. Amending takes up to 16 weeks (4 months) to process.

Your will both get your refunds.   Do not amend until you receive the refund.  You will probably have to pay back part of the refund with the amended return.

Amend 2016 tax return:

You should *wait* until your return has been processed and you receive your refund or conformation that any tax due has been paid.  (If you file an amended return while you first return is being processed it can cause extended delays for both returns if two returns are in the system at the same time).  In addition, if the IRS makes any change on your original return, you might end up having to amend the amendment – a sticky process that can take a year or more).  

 -- Then you can start the amend process.  

 -- Amended returns can only be mailed - allow 8-12 weeks - can take up to 16 weeks (4 months) for processing.
 
 See this TurboTax FAQ for help with amending:  
 
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed"...>

You can check the status of your mailed amended return at this link but allow 3 weeks after mailing before checking.
 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-%28Form-1040-X%29/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1">...>

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[chanvetrimmer]

what if parents lived together for 9mths of the year

[Opus 17]

If the child lived with both parents more than half the year, then either parent can claim the child.  That parent gets all the tax benefits.  The special rules for splitting the child tax credit and the other benefits don’t apply.  If the parents can’t agree on who will claim the child, the first tiebreaker the IRS will use is which parent did the child live with the larger total number of days.  

[Raiders35]

How did you go about getting this fixed? I’m in the same situation now, because I misunderstood that the child can only be on one tax return at all, even if one isn’t claiming

[VictoriaD75]

If you have already filed, you will need to amend your return. You will need to amend the return for the taxpayer that claimed the child and for the taxpayer wishing to claim.

Should you have to amend, follow the steps below:

1. Log into your TurboTax account
2. Choose the tax year that you wish to amend
3. Click Amend
4. Make any necessary changes

Keep in mind that when you are amending, the refund tracker monitors the difference from your original filing to the amended return. It does not include any original refund or balance due. If you are claiming any previously unclaimed credits, you will see the difference as an additional refund amount.