If ex owes 10k back child support we have 1kid together he has 3 more kids & I would get his tax return so instead he let his gfs mom claim the restkids.is this illegal?

[rowdeesmommy]

Childsupport said I would receive his tax return that is why he let someone else claim them also 2 are not related to her in any way.

[rjs]

No, it's not illegal. Your ex is not legally obligated to claim every dependent that he is entitled to claim. There are also other legal ways that he could make his refund smaller, or even get no refund at all. For example, he could reduce his withholding.

You didn't give any details about who his other children live with, how old they are, etc., so we can't say who might be entitled to claim them as dependents. It might be perfectly legal for his girlfriend's mother to claim them. And if she claimed children that she is not entitled to claim, that is not your concern. Your ex's refund was not smaller because of who claimed his children. It's smaller because he did not claim them himself, but there's not necessarily anything wrong with that.

Obviously your ex is doing whatever he can to evade his child support obligation. You can't rely on the tax system as the primary means of enforcing that obligation. There are better ways to enforce it. For example, perhaps you could have his salary garnisheed. You should talk to your lawyer about the options for enforcing the child support provisions of your divorce decree.

[Hal_Al]

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit and a relationship test. Only a QC qualifies a tax payer for the big refunds (Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit).
The GF's Mom may be able to claim the unrelated children as Qualifying Relative dependents only if they lived with her all year and she provided more than half their support. The home she provides is considered a major part of support. But, because they are not related she can not claim them for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. If the GF and your ex get married, the GF's mom will be considered related (step grandmother)

[rjs]

The girlfriend's mother might be the grandmother. It's not clear whether the current girlfriend is the mother of the ex's "3 more kids." If she is, then the children could possibly be qualifying children of the grandmother.

As I said earlier, though, I think it's beside the point whether it's legal for the girlfriend's mother to claim the children. Whether she does or she doesn't, the fact is that the father didn't claim them, and that reduced his refund. Apparently that was his intention, and there's nothing that rowdeesmommy (the OP) can do about it. He doesn't have to claim them if he doesn't want to. It doesn't matter to rowdeesmommy who did claim them, or whether anyone claimed them. She has to pursue other ways to collect the child support, and other ways are available. But that's beyond the scope of this forum.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

The only thing you can worry about is the child you have together.  If you have custody more than 183 nights of the year, then you are the only parent allowed to claim the child as a dependent, unless you sign a waiver allowing him to do that.  If someone else did claim your child as a dependent, simply file your own tax return that claims the child as a dependent, and the IRS will investigate the duplicate claim.

There are a lot of factors that could come into play and it can get complicated quickly.

•If your ex has children with a second woman (let's say "Amy"), and they are living together, then either your ex or "Amy" can claim the children as dependents.  There is nothing that forces him to claim them just to get a bigger refund.  

•Amy's mother can claim her grandchildren as dependents if the children and Amy lived with Amy's mother for at least half the year AND Amy's mother has higher taxable income than both Amy and your Ex.  Or, if the children don't live with Amy's mother, then Amy's mother can still claim them but ONLY IF both Amy and your Ex don't file tax returns, or only file tax returns to claim a refund of withholding and claim no dependents or credits, and if Amy's mother paid more than half the children's living expenses.

•If your ex had children with a different woman (let's say "Liz"), and your ex and the children are living with Amy, then neither Amy or her mother can legally claim Liz' children as her dependents unless both of these things are true:

1. Your ex does not file a tax return, or owes no tax and only files to claim a refund of withholding and doesn't claim any dependents or credits, and,

2. Liz's children lived all 365 days of the year with Amy or her mother and Amy or her mother paid more than half their living expenses.

It is certain possible that someone has improperly claimed the children as dependents.  The IRS has a form for reporting fraud, they may investigate.  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f3949a.pdf

However, even if the IRS decides that what they did was wrong and forces the gf's mother to amend her return and pay back taxes and a penalty, that will not necessarily result in your ex filing a new return to claim the dependents.  The fact that other people might not be allowed to claim his children as dependents does not mean he can be forced to claim them himself.  You probably need to find other ways to pursue your child support case.  

[SweetieJean]

Legal matters are best addressed by a licensed attorney in your state.