How can I report someone else claiming my child?

[Salenaapodaca3]

My kids father claimed my son who lives with me most of the year. He has no child support order,  but he gives me $200-$400 a month for 2 kids that are with me 85% of the year. And to top it off! He didn’t give me a heads up so I filed my taxes and they were rejected! How can I stop him from claiming my son? This is ridiculous!! 

[Irene2805]

You will have to print and mail in your return.  Include a letter of explanation outlining why you should be able to claim the child as a dependent.  The IRS will review the situation and decide who is able to claim the child for the purposes of head-of-household status, and credits.

One of the tie-breaker rules the IRS uses is:

If the parents don't file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year. [IRS Pub. 501, p. 16]

For more information, please see IRS Pub. 501 - Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

[Porscha8900]

Someone has misused my daughter identity and filed them on their taxes in2019 and 2020

[ToddL99]

You must file by mail -  your return & refund should be processed. 

Unfortunately, you will have to file your return by mail. Once a person's SSN (your child's in this case) is used on an e-filed return, the IRS will not allow it to be used on another e-filed return

See How do I print and mail my return in TurboTax Online? for instructions.

Later in the year, the IRS will send you and whoever else claimed the child separate letters asking for proof of who was entitled to claim your children on their tax return. They will provide instructions on what you need to send as proof. 

[Pearlyxx1]

I know this lady she has 4 kids that dfac took and gave to her sister.

       This been going on 6 years she been claiming these kids and not doing nothing for them she file taxes and stimulus for them. Theses kids need stuff and the sister doesn’t know.

[ThomasM125]

You can report someone who is involved with tax fraud, and you may even get a reward. You can learn more about that here:

https://www.irs.gov/compliance/whistleblower-informant-award

It is detailed in IRS publication 5251 here:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5251.pdf

[smilesdogs85]

Need to report that someone has claimed my son and my daughter last year what can i do about this? They lived with me and ive been claiming them so what can i do about this?

[SusanY1]

There really isn't a need to report it, per se.  Just file your return, claiming your daughters, by mail. 

Unfortunately, you won't be able to e-file due to limitations of the e-file system.  

The IRS will process your return with your children listed as your dependents as filed, upon receipt.   Later in the year, typically a month or so after the extension deadline (October 15, 2021) the IRS computers begin running a variety of matching programs.  At that time, letters are sent to all taxpayers who list the same dependents on a return asking them to amend if the dependents do not meet the criteria for dependents. 

If no taxpayer submits an amended return to remove duplicate dependents, then the IRS again sends letters asking for certain documentation to support that the dependents should be claimed by the taxpayer.  They will tell you which specific documents they require at that time and tell you where to submit the documents.  

After determining which return has the right to claim the dependents, the IRS will remove the dependents from the return(s) that are not entitled to claim them, and issue a bill to the taxpayer(s) for the amount of the tax and any penalties and interest owed as a result of the claim.  If certain credits are claimed that should not have been, the taxpayer may be barred from taking those credits for a period of up to ten years, even with other dependents. 

The IRS will not share with you any information about any other taxpayer who may have claimed the children.   

[christinasilvas76]

What do I do if I removed my son from my return and Efiled my taxes, then I got the court document stating I am the only one who is legally allowed to claim him? What do I do?

[DaveF1006]

You can file an amended return claiming your son and your ex-spouse will need to do the same removing him as their dependent. The beauty is that you can efile your amended returns this year.

The only issue I see is did you get that order in 2020 or 2021? If you received in 2021 and if it doesn't specify dependency conditions in an earlier year, your claim for dependency could be lost for 2020.

[christinasilvas76]

Thank you. No the order was done in 2016.

[christinasilvas76]

I spoke with my ex-husband, he stated he didn't claim my son on taxes. I don't know if I really believe him. How can I find out who claimed my chilld?

[VolvoGirl]

Sorry you can't find out.  Even the IRS won't tell you.  Just file your return correctly with your dependents.  If it rejects then you might have to mail it.  Then the IRS will eventually follow up and send you both letters.  It might be just an honest mistake.  Maybe someone else typed a ssn wrong on their return and got yours by accident.

[Rlsu1]

The tax code is vague when the courts say that someone can claim the child as the dependent on their taxes but the child is given primarily domicile with a different parent. So what do you do when the parent who has the domicile parent status is claiming them when they weren’t given that right by the courts but the child support was based on that so the other parent is now really getting screwed. Will the IRS accept the court documents? 

[ToddL99]

As @VolvoGirl stated so clearly, "Just file your return correctly with your dependents".  If the IRS rejects your e-file attempt, then you will have to print and mail it.

At some point, the IRS will follow up, sending both of you letters. At that point, you can submit whatever court documents you have and IRS will decide who is eligible to claim the child on their tax return."

@Rlsu1