Claiming a dependent for 2007 tax year

[nharden1984]

Hi everyone:

I'm in need for some serious help. I'm kind of in a funny situation. This year I was suppose to claim my daughter for the the tax year. I was going to recieve a EIC. But my daughters father claimed her as well.... Okay now this is where it gets kinda tricky. We are not married. We lived together as a family up until october of 2007. Then I moved back to Michigan where she is in my custody. He made more than me last year, but I'm not quite sure if he will be recieving a CC or EIC. But anways, I had her for a full year, I'm wondering what determining factor will result in who gets to claim our daughter.

When we were together basically, all of our bills were split 50-50, just about. And also my name is still on the lease at the apartment were he still resides.

[shopping mom]

If the child lived with you and you are supporting her 50% then you can claim her. However if he has already filed and claimed her you need to have a tax preparer help you figure out what to do so you can claim her. If you file now and claim her the IRS will see that she has been claimed twice.
If her dad is willing to do an amended tax form and remove her as a dependent then you can file yours.
If he is unwilling get a professional opinion.

[happysunshine28]

Not sure about CTC but he cannot legally claim EIC for her. I have tried the irs website but cant get anything to open up. Do you have a parenting thingy that says he can claim her every other year or is it a verbal agreement? I would think if there is no court order for alternating year of claiming her then he could get in some real trouble with the irs because she doesnt live with him.

[annmarie780]

I do know once she's been claimed she can't be claimed again. My nephew just went through that with his g/f. Apparently they had an agreement that he was going to claim their daughter since she didn't work all year but when the time came to do it she claimed the daughter behind his back. He went ahead and filed unknowingly and got a response stating that he couldn't since she was already claimed on another's tax return. You may need to contact the IRS though and try and figure out what can be done.

[nharden1984]

Well, I spoke to the accountant thats doing my taxes for me this year. He said I wasn't able to e-file my taxes because of that reason, but I could still claim her if I mailed it in. And from the information on the IRS website stated that the child could be claimed by the parent who has had custody of the dependent for the longest period of half of the time.... something along that line. But the thing is she has lived w/ her father (me as well) for 10 months, then the remaining part of the year just me. So technically I cared for her for the longest period of time. But I'm still not sure how this is going to work because he has taken care of her for over a half of the year.

[Duramax04]

My ex-wife has been claimong 2 of my children, whom I have custody of, for several years. Although the person who e-files last can't claim the children (electronic filing kicks it back) the other can still file a paper return and get the refund. I'll let you know the results if I ever hear from the IRS (I reported it the first year it happened, 6 or 7 years ago)

[pryan67]

he can also claim that he was with her for those 10 months...so that can get sticky...


definately get a professional opinion though....


what agreement do you have with her father regarding this....if any? If you do NOT have one...you've got to get one...you're going to need one for child support anyway...

[Duramax04]

There is an IRS form that the custodial parent has to sign that allows the non-custodial parent to claim the dependent. Check into it.

[Letitride]

You can still claim her but like the others stated above, your return must be mailed in since the IRS system will not take a SS# that's already in their system. You should also include a letter stating that your daughter was in your care for more that 50% (even though you and the father were caring for her at the same time.) and that she moved with you for the remaining months of 2007. Be prepared to provide copies of school & medical documents if you have any.

I was in the same situation in 2005 and I just mailed in my return along with a letter stating my daughter was living with me and I received my tax refund very quickly. From what my tax preparer says, they won't even try to collect from him, they will just send a letter telling him not to claim her next year.

Good Luck and hope this helps!

[Nat112875]

Hi everyone:

I'm in need for some serious help. I'm kind of in a funny situation. This year I was suppose to claim my daughter for the the tax year. I was going to recieve a EIC. But my daughters father claimed her as well.... Okay now this is where it gets kinda tricky. We are not married. We lived together as a family up until october of 2007. Then I moved back to Michigan where she is in my custody. He made more than me last year, but I'm not quite sure if he will be recieving a CC or EIC. But anways, I had her for a full year, I'm wondering what determining factor will result in who gets to claim our daughter.

When we were together basically, all of our bills were split 50-50, just about. And also my name is still on the lease at the apartment were he still resides.

I had this problem in the past as well. You might have to do what I did, which is go back to family court so that the judge can enter in an order allowing you to claim her since she lives with you, which is the primary qualification for the EIC.

Then, you can send in a copy of the judgment and you shouldn't have any more problems.