I claim my grandchild as my dependent but I only pay 10%, is it ok to fill for 2120 to claim for multiple support

[xmasbaby0]

Please provide some details----what do you mean you only pay 10% but you claim the child?  Who else is paying for the child's support?  Where does the child live?  Does the child live with you?

"is it ok to fill for 2120"

The tax returns that everyone is filing right now are for tax year 2019.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

[Opus 17]

A child is automatically the dependent of the "close relative" where the child lives more than half the nights of the year (183 or more night), as long as the child does not provide it's own support.  A "close relative" is  a parent, stepparent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or older sibling.  

If the child lives with you more than half the nights of the year but other family help support the child, it is still your qualifying child and you don't need form 2120.  You don't have to prove how much support you provide if the child lives in your home 183 or more nights of the year. 

If the child does not live more than half the nights of the year with any one particular close relative, then the only way to claim the child as a dependent is for all the people who provide more than 10% of the child's support to all agree on which person will claim the child as a dependent.

If you claim your grandchild as a dependent and include form 2120, what you are saying is 

1. the child does not live with me more than half the year
2. the child doesn't live with any other close relative more than half the year either
3. every other relative who helps support the child agrees that I can claim the child as a dependent this year
4. I have a signed statement from every other relative who supports the child that says I can claim the child and they will not claim the child for this tax year.

You don’t file the signed statement with your return. But you must keep it for your records and be prepared to furnish it and any other information necessary to show that you qualify to claim the person as your dependent.  If other relatives also claim the child as a dependent and you don't have the signed statements to back up your form 2120, you will lose the dependent tax credit and have to repay it with interest and penalties for filing a tax form you knew was inaccurate. 

[mingjih]

Thanks for your answer, very clearly.  My granddaughter live with my son more than half year. My son don't need to file return on last year for he income less. I pay more than 10% for my granddaughter. But I was rejected by e-File. If like this do I need to attach form 2120 to prove my son and me are also support my granddaughter? 

[Opus 17]

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@mingjih wrote:

Thanks for your answer, very clearly.  My granddaughter live with my son more than half year. My son don't need to file return on last year for he income less. I pay more than 10% for my granddaughter. But I was rejected by e-File. If like this do I need to attach form 2120 to prove my son and me are also support my granddaughter? 

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In this case you can only claim your granddaughter if your son is not a "taxpayer" for 2019.  He is not a taxpayer if he is not required to file a return and does not file, or only files to claim a refund of withholding and claims no other dependents, or credits.

Then, to claim your grandchild who does not live with you, you must have the agreement of every family member that provides at least 10% of the child's support.  If that is only you and your grandson, that's easy.  But if there are other relatives (especially a biological mother who is separated or divorced from the father) then it is much more complicated to get the agreement of everyone who pay more than 10% support. 

If you get the agreement of everyone who pays more than 10% support, then you claim the child and you would be required to include form 2120 that lists the name, address, and social security number of every other person who could claim the child but is agreeing you let you claim the child. (that means in your case, everyone who pays more than 10% support.)

If you claimed the child as a dependent and were rejected, that means someone else claimed the child already.  Either on a tax return, or on a "non-filer" form to get the economic stimulus.  That non-filer form was really a special version of a tax return, and if your son sent in that form to claim his child as a dependent to get the extra stimulus payment, then you can't claim your child this year.

If someone else filed a dependent claim for the child, you would have to print and mail your return and the IRS will eventually investigate the duplicate claim.  If it is someone with a better provable claim than you, you will lose the dependent credit.  

Note that this type of dependent would get you only a $500 credit, not the $2000 credit. 

[mingjih]

Thanks for your professional reply. My son didn't get the "extra stimulus payment" yet. But the return is for last year, and all COVID-19 stimulus payment is for this year, why both of them related?

[Opus 17]

The IRS is basing stimulus payments on 2019 tax return information.   For people who filed early, they got their payments pretty quick.  For people who did not file yet, the IRS has no good way to know how much to pay.  And some people who don’t file tax returns are eligible for a stimulus payment, and the IRS created a non-filer form to say “I don’t need to file a tax return but I qualify for a payment.”  If your son filed that information to get a payment and listed his child as a dependent, then he has claimed his child as a dependent and you can’t.  

[mingjih]

Thanks so much. I think this is the problem that I got e-file reject by IRS. In this situation, is it ok if I fill the 2120 form with my return?

[Opus 17]

Yes, if you are claiming a dependent who does not live in your home, by reason of agreement, include form 2120 with everything else you mail. All the forms and instructions should print when you print your return to mail it.  

[mingjih]

Thanks a lot.