I have a question about my taxes

[melodypatrickfic]

My husband and I have full legal guardianship of our grand daughter through the courts in my county. Our son died and our daughter in law was proven unfit after his death. Our grand daughter has been in our custody and home since 9/2015 and we have provided all financial support, the only exception is her death benefits (social security) from her father (our son). My husband and I told our daughter in law that we would be claiming Rosalyn as a dependent  for the 2017 year. My daughter in law has claimed her every year even though she has not provided one cent of monetary support. What do we do if the daughter in law files first?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

If she files a tax return claiming the personal exemption of the child and the IRS accepts the tax return, then you will be unable to e-file your tax return.  You will have to print and mail your tax return claiming the personal exemption of the child.  If you are due a tax refund the IRS will pay you the refund.

Within a year the IRS will investigate why there were two tax returns filed with the same personal exemption being claimed on each tax return.  You will need to respond to each IRS notice you receive since they will be asking for proof that you were entitled to claim the child's exemption.  The loser of the investigation will have to pay back any tax refund along with penalties and interest.

See this IRS website for Form 886-H-DEP Supporting Documents for Dependency Exemptions - https://www.eitc.irs.gov/eitc/files/downloads/f886-h-dep.pdf