I am claiming my child this year. My boyfriend (name removed) put on his tax forms that he's not claiming said child. I filed first and I was denied. Why?

[MiriamF]

What do you mean, denied? Did you get a rejection code from the IRS? If so, what was it?

[Opus 17]

Are you living together? And he is the other parent? There is a section of the dependent interview that is very confusing in that situation and probably caused your boyfriend to make the wrong entries.

[bmmcstay]

Yes we live together and yes he's the other parent.

[bmmcstay]

I was emailed by your site saying they rejected my files

[Opus 17]

When two parents live together unmarried and share custody, only one parent can claim the dependent and all the tax benefits, and the other parent should not even list the child on their tax return.  There is a way to "split" the dependent benefits when parents live apart and share custody (whether divorced, separated or never married) but these special rules don't apply to unmarried parents living together.

Unfortunately Turbotax is not clear on this. When your boyfriend entered your child's name and indicated that you had a custody agreement, and that you were claiming the child, the interview assumed that you were living apart. It gave your boyfriend certain of the split tax benefits of a dependent.  He needed to say "no", there was no agreement to share custody (because that question only applies to legal court orders for divorced or separated parents) or even better, he should not have listed the child at all.

If you have decided that you will claim the child, you should print your return and mail it in.  After your boyfriend's tax return is accepted and his refund paid, he needs to file an amended return to completely delete the dependent from his tax return.  He will also have to repay any EIC or other tax benefits he claimed, including head of household status.

[macuser_22]

I totally agree.   Custody agreements only apply to parents that are separated, but the average taxpayer should not be expected to know the definition of custody and how it applies to the tax law when claiming a dependent - that is why they use a tax program - to do that for them.  

Every year we get many parents that both live with the child that improperly answer the custody question simply because TurboTax refuses to make the screen clear to anyone on that screen that the question does not apply, and should be answered NO when both parents live with the child , instead of burying it in a vague "learn more" button that also is not clear.

[MiriamF]

If you were rejected with code F1040-506-01, indicating that some else has claimed your child, then you need to ask your relatives who might have claimed the child. There are tie-breaker rules governing who has the higher right (see below). If you have the higher right, then you should ask the culprit to file an amended return, omitting your child.

https://www.eitc.irs.gov/EITC-Central/abouteitc/basic-qualifications/tiebreaker

If none of your relatives or friends claimed the child, then you may be a victim of identity theft. If this is the case, you should immediately file form 14039. See more information below.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/General-Tax-Tips/Identity-Theft--What-to-Do-if-Someon...

To get your return accepted by the IRS, you will need to file by mail. If you prepared Form 14039, you should include a copy of the form plus the identification documents you included when you initially notified the IRS. You will be required to produce documents to support your claim to the dependent, but do not send these until requested by the IRS.

[Opus 17]

Hi @TurboTaxMiriam this is an unfortunately common problem with unmarried parents living together. You might want to add my discussion below to your repertoire.

[MiriamF]

thanks, Opus 17. I appreciate the comment.

[Opus 17]

@TurboTaxMiriam if you have access to the "lounge" I have a post there.  I've been fighting this issue for more than a year.  Apparently they focus-grouped the question "are you living together unmarried with the other parent" and people thought it was an invasion of privacy (but sharing all your other tax info is not?) and so instead they've allowed the program to create significant confusion in such cases.  Even getting them to just change the wording on one help screen has been impossible.

[MiriamF]

Unfortunately, I do not have access to the lounge. It is most unfortunate that the software is confusing. This whole issue of who gets to claim the child is confusing anyway, and the government's attempt to deal with some of the problems through the PATH act is going to create a lot of headaches.

[macuser_22]

Yea, but that is short term until Feb 15, but this issue goes on all year long and for every question we see, I will bet that many more taxpayers just file incorrectly spiting benefits that they are not entitled to because  it is not clear.