My fiance entered our infant sons SS# into her Turbotax (as asked), but did not claim him. I am Head of Household, & received a SEIC-F1040-506-01 error. Why?

[dorseymclaughlin]

How do I solve this issue? Mailing my returns and waiting for the IRS to recalculate her refund will cost us money in penalties & interest we can't afford. She has her copy of her returns with no dependents listed.

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

If you both live with the child, you can agree who claims the child and all the benefits. The child can only be on one return and not on the other at all. The benefits cannot be split.

The dependent interview is confusing since it asks about custody without really explaining what that means. That can lead you to answer the questions in a manner that gives credits to both parents when they both live with the child which is not allowed. The child can only be on one parents tax return and not on the other at all.

*Only* divorced or separated parents that have lived apart for the last 6 months of the year can have a *custody* agreement. The parent that physically lived with the child is the custodial parent and the parent that did not live with the child the non-custodial parent. Under those circumstances the custodial parent can release the child's exempt to the non-custodial parent who did not live with the child with a 8332 form (which is a custody agreement).

When *both* parents live with the child, no such custody agreement can exist since both parents have equal custody and there is no non-custodial parent. The dependent and all the benefits can only be claimed by one parent.

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Qualifying Child of More Than One Person

Sometimes, a child meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests to be a qualifying child of more than one person. Although the child is a qualifying child of each of these persons, only one person can actually treat the child as a qualifying child to take all of the following tax benefits (provided the person is eligible for each benefit).

1) The exemption for the child.
2) The child tax credit.
3) Head of household filing status.
4) The credit for child and dependent care expenses.
5) The exclusion from income for dependent care benefits.
6)The earned income credit.

The other person can’t take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person can’t agree to divide these benefits between you. The other person can’t take any of these tax benefits for a child unless he or she has a different qualifying child.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000204278

[dorseymclaughlin]

Is the any way for TurboTax to retrieve her returns to make the correction? Or am I forced to not e-file, mail my return, and wait for their response?

[macuser_22]

No.  She will have to amend to change it.

You cannot e-file claiming the same SSN that is already used in the e-file system.  If she amends to remove the child so you can claim and file HOH then you can only mail file.  Amended returns can take 4 months to process.


To amend your 2016 tax return:

You should *wait* until your return has been processed and you receive your refund or conformation that any tax due has been paid.  (If you file an amended return while you first return is being processed it can cause extended delays for both returns if two returns are in the system at the same time).  In addition, if the IRS makes any change on your original return, you might end up having to amend the amendment – a sticky process that can take a year or more).  

 -- Then you can start the amend process.  

 -- Amended returns can only be mailed - allow 8-12 weeks - can take up to 16 weeks (4 months) for processing.
 
 See this TurboTax FAQ for help with amending:  
 
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed"...>

You can check the status of your mailed amended return at this link but allow 3 weeks after mailing before checking.
 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-%28Form-1040-X%29/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1">...>

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