Hi my kids father been claiming I ds for the pass 3 years .Now I have income and wanted a Ip pin for my Adjustment in my income .How do I get ip pin

[mesquitebean]

Are you sure you want an IP PIN, a 6-digit number assigned by the IRS to victims of ID theft?   There is also a voluntary opt-in program.  If you live in one of the 20 states listed below, you can voluntarily opt in to the IP PIN program. 

Are you asking about getting it for you, or are you trying to get IP PINs for the kids?  There may be a simpler way to work all of that if you come to an agreement with the father, or whoever is legally supposed to claim the kids.  I've asked someone familiar with dependent situations to see if he has some suggestions for you in this thread.

In any case, in the meantime here's some info on IP PINs:

The IRS says:

"If you live in one of 20 locations, you are eligible for the online IP PIN Opt-In Program. To be eligible for 2020, you must have filed a federal return last year as a resident of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas or Washington."

Folks in other states would have to either be mandated or invited by the IRS to participate after filing a Form 14039 ID Theft affidavit with the IRS.

The IRS has this PDF brochure about the IP PIN Opt-In program:
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5367es.pdf

See more info at:
https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin

Once you start using an IP PIN, you will have to use one every year from now on.  You will need a new one each year.  The IRS normally mails the new IP PINS in late December/January each year.

[mesquitebean]

@Hal_Al Do you have any comments that might help this user decide how to proceed with her dependents situation she described in her question?  Thanks!

[mesquitebean]

@ zalorapowell27 

I added some additional info to my first comment above, where I also left some general information about IP PINs.  But I've asked one of the forum helpers who knows a lot about dependent situations to review your question and see if he has additional suggestions for you for the situation you described and what route is the best for your issue.   So please return to the forum, watch for additional comments, and continue any discussion in this thread.

[Hal_Al]

If you are entitled to claim your kids, you just start claiming them. You file a normal tax return. You do not need any additional forms or numbers (I assume both you and your kids have social security numbers). If the other parent tries to also claim the kids, the IRS will sort it out.

This is how it works:

If someone else claimed your child inappropriately, and if they file first, your return will be rejected if e-filed. You would then need to file a return on paper, claiming the child as  appropriate. The IRS will process your return and send you your refund, in the normal time. Shortly (up to a year) thereafter, you'll receive a letter from the IRS, stating that your child was claimed on another return. It will tell you that if you made a mistake to file an amended return and if you didn't make a mistake to do nothing. The other party will get the same letter you did. If one of you doesn't file an amended return, unclaiming the child, the next letter, from the IRS, will require you to provide proof. Be sure to reply in a timely manner.

Winner gets the tax benefits; loser gets to pay the IRS back with penalties and interest.  The custodial parent almost always wins. The non-custodial parent can only claim the child as a dependent if the custodial parent gives permission (on form 8332) or if it's spelled out in a pre 2009 divorce decree.  

References:

http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/qt/Dependents-Audits.htm

www.eitc.irs.gov/EITCCentral/f886-h-dep.pdf

____________________________________________________________________________

There is a way to split the tax benefits. For future negotiations with the other parent (and maybe even for this year) the following info may be of use:

 There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status, and day care credit. This "splitting of the child" is not available to parents who lived together at any time during the last 6 months of the year; then only one of you can claim the child for any tax reasons. The tax benefits may not be split in any other manner.

Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the dependency to him.

 So, it's good idea to let the other parent know that you will be claiming those items, as many first time divorced parents are not aware of this rule and may try to claim those items, which will cause the IRS to send out letters.

Ref: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17#en_US_2017_publink1000170897

Scroll down to "Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart)"

You can if you are the custodial parent.  The custodial  parent is the parent the child lived with for more than 182 nights in 2019.