Thursday, May 24, 2012

what happens if someone is trying to claim another person's child on their taxes? What are the penalties

what happens if someone is trying to claim another person's child on their taxes? What are the penalties?
My husband has a seven year old son who lives part of the time with his mother and her live-in boyfriend. Her boyfriend is insisting on covering the minor on his group health insurance and he is also claiming the child on his taxes as a dependent and getting the child tax credit every year. My understanding is that a child can only be claimed as a dependent if it is a biological, adopted, step or foster child. What would this be classified as? Fraud? And how would my husband go about proving this to the IRS?
United States - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Your thinking for EIC. If the child lives all yr with them and doesn't pay over 50% of their own living expenses and makes less than $3500 they can claim him. The child would be considered a qualified relative.
2 :
The custodial parent is the one who can claim the child. The custodial parent is defined as the one with whom the child spent the most time with during the year. If that's not you then you have no claim to the child an cannot claim him unless you have a court decree that grants you the exemption or the custodial parent gives you a completed Form 8332 that you attach to your return. A live-in boyfriend can claim the child if the child lived in his home ALL year and he provided more than half of the child's support for the year AND if the custodial parent earned less than $3,500 and does not claim him. If the b/f claims the child it will be up to him to prove his claim to the IRS. Since you apparently cannot claim the child, that's none of YOUR concern, however. The IRS will not discuss the mother's or the boyfriend's tax return with you, nor will they likely act on "fraud" claims when former spouses and the children are involved unless YOU are entitled to claim the child on YOUR return.
3 :
Let me add a few points to the good comments posted above. You should probably consult a tax professional. Your husband can still file a return, claiming his son. but not by computer because the IRS computer will see that the son's SSN has already been used. You have to print a paper return and mail it in. The IRS will contact all the parties and figure out who is entitled to claim the boy as the dependent. The good news is that you and your husband may get $1000 of your taxes for the child tax credit, plus another $400 to $800 for the dependent. The bad news news is that it takes months for this happen.

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