My Tax Return was Rejected – Someone Else Claimed My Dependents….NOW WHAT?

As an Enrolled Agent, (America’s Tax Expert) a federally licensed tax professional and a Certified Tax Coach, Lynn believes in keeping taxpayers informed with the most up-to-date information available. Please review the below information and call our office if you have questions or need professional assistance with an IRS or other tax planning matter.

You recently filed a personal income tax return that has been rejected by the Internal Revenue Service. It appears that one or more of the social security number(s) for a dependent listed on your tax return has already been used on another, previously filed, tax return. Now what should you do?

What should you do first?

1. Verify that the names, dates of birth and social security numbers used when filing your tax return are correct.

2. If you have dependents that are of the age where they have jobs and may have filed a tax return of their own, verify with the dependent(s) that they DID NOT claim themselves as a dependent on the tax return that they filed. (THIS IS THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF THIS ERROR.)

3. If you and your spouse filed separate tax returns, verify with the other spouse if they claimed the dependent in question on the return they filed. If communication between the parents is not possible due to marital circumstances and all other factors listed above are not in question, then it is most likely that the other parent has claimed your dependent.

What should you do next?

Q. Can I still electronically file my return this year? A. No. You will not be able to electronically file your tax return for the current year and still claim the duplicated dependent. You will need to file a paper tax return in order to claim the dependent for the current year. If you want to file electronically, you will have to remove the dependent(s) that have been claimed by another taxpayer.

Q. Does this mean that I don’t get to deduct my dependent this year? A. No. If you are the custodial parent, or you have a signed release by the custodial parent authorizing you to claim the dependent, then you will simply report the dependent on your tax return and claim them, but you will have to file a paper tax return.

Q. Does that mean that both parents get to claim the dependent? A. No. Both taxpayers that claimed the dependent child will receive a letter from the IRS after tax season. The letter will notify you that a dependent reported on your return has been claimed by more than one taxpayer. If you feel that you are correctly entitled to claim the dependent(s) in question, you may be requested to document, through explanation and other evidence, to the IRS, that you are the taxpayer entitled to the deduction. The other taxpayer will be requested to do the same.

Q. Will this happen again next year? A. There is no way to know what another taxpayer will or will not do in the future. As long as you are the parent (or taxpayer) entitled to claim the child as a dependent, you should keep filing your tax return in the most accurate and correct manner possible.

Tax Filing Tip: Keep good, well organized records, and be prepared to file as early as possible next year. Taxpayers who rightfully claim dependents and who are prepared to file early in tax season (before the other spouse gets around to filing) usually experience fewer tax filing problems.

We hope that the above information has been helpful to you. If you should require our assistance during the above process or need us to handle the matter for you, we do handle tax representation matters as separate engagements from tax preparation. As an Enrolled Agent, Lynn specializes in tax problem resolution and has handled many such cases for clients with positive outcomes. Let us know if you need our help.

If you are overwhelmed with your current tax matters or do not even know where to begin, a professional review of the situation can and should be the first course of action.

Don’t let an unfortunate situation become a tax nightmare! If you have questions on the above material, or would like to schedule an appointment to get your tax situation resolved or to review how you may take advantage of the many tax-saving strategies and opportunities which are available, call our office today! We will be glad to schedule your personalized tax resolution or planning session.

We can be reached at 863-295-9895 or by visiting our website http://www.lyncotax.com/contact.php or sending an email to [email protected].

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Lynn A. Schmidt, EA, CTC Enrolled Agent & Certified Tax Coach www.LyncoTax.com