depenents

[chingaida]

My mother-in-law moved in with us a year ago, so she has been our dependent for the first time for all of  2020.  She has no income and is on limited SS so she did not do taxes last year.  She just submitted taxes this year and she filed that she is dependent.  Her tax return was accepted.  I tried to file our taxes but they were rejected with the reason being that we claimed her as a dependent when here last tax retun filed (2018) did not list her as our dependent. How long should I wait to e-file again so that her filing as our dependent is registered? 

[AmyC]

The rejection for a social security number should be based on this year. Please find her return and look at the form 1040 and make sure that she is actually marked as a dependent on the return that was filed. It is so easy to get that step backwards and mark not a dependent.

If the return is marked as a dependent, there is no reason for your return to reject. Please double check what the exact rejection says.

If the return is not marked as a dependent, you will need to mail in your return and she will need to file an amended return.

I am certain you marked mother, lived with you all year, etc in the program.

Living on social security, she did not need to file a return. If she is on disability, your claiming her may have an impact.

[chingaida]

Thank you for y our answer. She definitely checked that she can be claimed as a dependent... I  just double-checked. The only reason she filed this year is that we needed to claim her as a dependent... also related to the stimulus checks.  Below is the reason Turbo Tax gave us for the rejection. We have 4 sons as well as our dependents. My oldest turned 18 in Feb. 2021, but he has never filed taxes. So, it has to be about claiming my mother-in-law as a dependent.  Should I mail it in? Wait t e-file again? Her tax return was accepted but we just filed it late last week.  Thank you for any help you can give me.

What happened

IND-517-01 - A Dependent SSN in the return must not be the same as the Primary or Spouse SSN on another return where 'PrimaryClaimAsDependentInd' or 'SpouseClaimAsDependentInd' is not checked.

[chingaida]

Thank you for y our answer. She definitely checked that she can be claimed as a dependent... I  just double-checked. The only reason she filed this year is that we needed to claim her as a dependent... also related to the stimulus checks.  Below is the reason Turbo Tax gave us for the rejection. We have 4 sons as well as our dependents. My oldest turned 18 in Feb. 2021, but he has never filed taxes. So, it has to be about claiming my mother-in-law as a dependent.  Should I mail it in? Wait to e-file again? Her tax return was accepted but we just filed it late last week.  Thank you for any help you can give me.  I actually initially submitted our return first and it was rejected, so I thought maybe submitting hers checking off that she is our dependent would change it. Maybe being "accepted" doesn't register as our dependent yet?

What happened

IND-517-01 - A Dependent SSN in the return must not be the same as the Primary or Spouse SSN on another return where 'PrimaryClaimAsDependentInd' or 'SpouseClaimAsDependentInd' is not checked.

[npierson7]

If you mother-in-low filed her taxes to claim her stimulus payment and her return was accepted it means she did it as an Independent taxpayer. Adult dependents aren't eligible for first two rounds of stimulus payments. The only option for you in that case to remove her from your tax return. 

[chingaida]

She checked off that she is s dependent. There was no question asking about claiming a stimulus check. We were going to just give her the stimulus money that we would get for her. 

By the way, we received the rejection before she even filed anything. She filed in 2018, but did not file last year.  She received the 1st stimulus direct deposit, but did not get the $600 for some reason. It had nothing to do with us claiming her, because we had not filed our taxes yet.

[chingaida]

Can anyone else help with this question?

[ColeenD3]

She may have checked off that someone could claim her but not that someone would claim her. The bottom line is if there is a mix-up somehow, you will have to mail in your tax return. If the IRS gets conflicting information about her dependency, you will both get letters and she can at that time reiterate that she is a dependent.

[chingaida]

Thank you. How could she claim that someone "would" claim her? Turbo Tax doesn't ask that question. There is no box to check that says "would claim"... only that someone can "can claim"... I'm looking at her return right now.

Our return was rejected before she even filed hers. Was it rejected because it was going off of her 2018 tax return (the last one she filed) when she was not our dependent?

I will probably send it in the mail, but I would like to know why exactly it was rejected.

[AmyC]

Correct, could claim is the wording that would need to be marked. When your return rejects, it gives you the reason why. I wonder if another family member has claimed her? Identity theft even? If she isn't filing, someone else could be claiming her.

Talk to family members, that is usually the case. If not, call the IRS identity theft department and talk to them, 1-800-908-4490.

You don't want to mail it unless you have to. The IRS is really backed up.

Have you filed her return? Is it marked someone can claim you as a dependent?

[chingaida]

Yes, it is marked that she can be claimed as a dependent. No one is claiming her. She was not dependent until this year. 2019 is the first year she did not file taxes.  She filed this year really just so we could claim her as a dependent. 

Her tax return was accepted let last week, but does that mean it is finalized?  Would it take time for it to register in the system so that we can claim her... since this is the first year she is being claimed as a dependent?  

Below is the reason they gave for the rejection.

What happened

IND-517-01 - A Dependent SSN in the return must not be the same as the Primary or Spouse SSN on another return where 'PrimaryClaimAsDependentInd' or 'SpouseClaimAsDependentInd' is not checked.

[AmyC]

Oh, the reject code says the box was not checked while the return in your hand says it was marked. That is bizarre. I am so sorry. You will need to file an amended return for her marking her as able to be claimed. Go ahead and efile her amended return. Get it accepted, then file your return. 

Save a copy of the original return before doing an amended return. See: 

• how to file an amended return.
• I need to amend my state return.
• Can I e-file my amended state return?
• Can I e-file my 1040X to amend my return?

[AmyC]

Wait, does her return show the stimulus credit? You can't get that as a dependent but would if not being claimed.

[chingaida]

Thank you for responding quickly! She e-filed and it is definitely checked off that she can be claimed as a dependent.  Her return was accepted, but is it completely finished?  She pays nothing and receives nothing.\

We are aware that her stimulus would come to us... which we would just give her the money. For some reason she did not get the $600 but she got the first stimulus... this was before she filed as a dependent of course. She would probably lose the $600, but we gain more than $600 by claiming her... again we just gave her $600 out of our money. 

I did not see any question on Turbo Tax that asked anything about stimulus for her.

So, would she have to amend? It clearly has a check mark on the box saying she can be claimed. I'm confused.

[gloriah5200]

As long as she marked the box that she can be claimed as a dependent by someone else and you did claim her, but you did not get the full payment for her, then you can claim the difference on next year's income tax return in the section for Recovery Rebate Credit.  They may also look on next year's return to be sure you claim her on that return to include it in your next year refund.

There is no reason for either of you to amend your returns.  It sounds like both of them were filed correctly.  IRS may later send you the difference but it is unknown at this time if they will or not.  The 2020 Recovery Rebate credit determined whether you are entitled to an additional payment for the 2nd check.  IRS was supposed to calculate the amount to be sent to you for the 3rd stimulus check and send it to you.