How His Amendment Might Help?

[crissaustin]

My ex-husband accidentally listed our daughter under dependent care when I need to claim her, so my return was rejected. He has mailed in an amendment for state and Federal to fix this, but what do I do now?  I have not yet filed.  If I send my taxes in via mail should this be sorted out by the time I mail mine in if that's the case?

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

Your ex's amended return will not be processed for months.    You just cannot e-file this year.  Your own return will have to be printed, signed and mailed if you are claiming the childcare credit.    If you are the custodial parent, you are the only one who can claim the childcare credit.  

Are you the custodial parent?  Do you have an agreement with the other parent to allow the other parent to claim them--due to divorce or that you live apart and share custody?  Did one of you sign a Form 8332?

If there is a signed 8332 then the custodial parent retains the right to file as Head of Household, get earned income credit and the childcare credit + education credits if the child is a full-time college student.  The non-custodial parent gets the child tax credit for children under the age of 17.

As far as the IRS is concerned, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child spent the most nights during the tax year--at least 183 nights.

When you mail a tax return, you need to attach any documents showing tax withheld, such as your W-2’s or any 1099’s.  Use a mailing service that will track it, such as UPS or certified mail so you will know the IRS/state received the return.

[crissaustin]

Thanks so much for that helpful reply!  We have two daughters - he claims one, and I claim the other.  We've just had a handshake agreement on who to claim w/o filling out any paperwork, so now that I know about the 8332 that may be the way to go from here on.  He wasn't trying to pull one over on me - attention to detail is just not his strong point.  He didn't even list her as a dependent - just had her SSN in the dependent care cost section which is what has tripped me up.  Ugh.  So, then do I just wait for the IRS to process and then pay what is owed then?

Thanks again and have a great 4th!

[xmasbaby0]

Again---you cannot e-file.  If you are claiming the childcare credit, your return must be mailed.  If your ex amended, that's fine, but his amended return will not be processed for months.  Do not try and wait for his amended return.  

"......and then pay what is owed then?"    What do you mean by that?  Does your tax return show that you owe federal tax due?  If you have an amount due on line 23 of your tax return, you have to pay by July 15, 2020.

If you have federal tax due you can pay by mailing your payment with the 1040V voucher, having the payment taken out of a designated bank account, or you can pay directly on the IRS website.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/direct-pay

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-can-i-pay-my-federal-taxes/00/26212

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-do-i-pay-my-irs-tax-due-with-a-check-or-mone...