Hello, who do I contact or how do I go about my child father trying to claim my son on his taxes. how do I stop him or can I report him and still get my tax refund?

[kpossible36]

my son lives me , I take care of him financially physically with no help from the father

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

It depends.  Situations like this can be somewhat complicated, particularly if he is successful in having his return accepted electronically by the IRS.  What you can do is file your return claiming your son.  If your return is accepted, you will have no additional worries.  He may try to submit a return by mail to claim your son, but since he cannot prove that your son lived with him, he won't receive anything for his claim.

However, if your return is rejected electronically, all is not lost, but it will take more time.  You will be able to mail in your return claiming your son.  (You may also choose to file a return not including your son to at least get a portion of your refund, then amend the return including your son to receive the benefits for claiming him later).  Along with this, you will want to send in proof that he is your child (birth certificate) and that he lived with you for more than 6 months of the year (school or medical records work for this).

The IRS will then send him information asking for proof that his son lived with him.  When he cannot prove it, then you will be awarded the benefits and he will have to pay back anything he originally received, along with any interest and penalties the IRS imposes for his false claim.

You can't, unfortunately, physically prevent him from filing, but you can win the case if he does file, as long as you have the proof mentioned above.

Please see our webpage on this subject:  

What Happens When Both Parents Claim a Child on a Tax Return ...