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)
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