Question

I didn't claim my daughter on my taxes but when my partner (her dad) try's to claim her he can't because her social was on my taxes but I put in my taxes he was claiming

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
1 reply
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It even asked me on the questions if I had an agreement with her Dad that he could claim her.

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Employee

Yes, I will explain what is happening and steps forward.

First, some background, only the custodial parent (one the child spends more nights with) can still claim the child for Earned Income Credit (EIC), Child and Dependent Care credit (CDC), and Head of Household. You cannot "shift" those via agreement. You can, however, shift the dependency exemption and the Child Tax Credit.

So, what you are doing is perfectly proper and legal, but the child's SSN remains on your return in these scenarios as it is still your right to claim the EIC/CDC/HOH. What is happening is the IRS e-file system is hyper sensitive (due to general ID protection measures) and it will still read the child's SSN on your return, even though you are not claiming the child as a dependent. And, thus, it will reject the other return.

The only way forward is for him to print and mail his return. At this point, even if you were to amend your return to remove the child completely (and this could cause you to lose substantial refund if you are getting the EIC/CDC/HOH), the e-file system will not update in time this year as it can take up to 16 weeks to process an amended return. When he files by mail, the IRS will still process his return and pay any refund due, even though the SSN is on your return as it is legal. It is just the e-file system itself preventing him from filing.