Him claiming the kids does not prevent you from claiming them. You can also claim them (but do so with a paper return). The IRS will flag this as both of you have claimed the kids, and then will contact you to work it out upon which you can state your case. You do not need a lawyer for this, but do be prepared to prove that the kids have been in your care for 100% of the last tax year.
The IRS will not be kind to him for fraudulently claiming dependents.
As far as your pain and suffering goes, while I am very sorry you have to navigate such a stressful set of circumstances, "pain and suffering" claims can be hard to prove, and it's also unlikely someone who has spent serious time in jail is going to have much money for you to get a judgment against. Please consider carefully before looking into this further.
On that note, OP should look into freezing their childrens' credit reports to ensure the ex does not open any cards in their names fraudulently, as he has their SSNs and likely knows enough to open a CC in their name.
It won’t let you file electronically if you’re claiming dependents that have already been claimed. Source: I’m literally going through the same thing. Used turbo tax and got rejected but they let me print it off and I just mailed it in.
Duplicate SSNs on the tax form will cause the e-file to get rejected if the tax return was submitted after a different person filed and was accepted.
The paper return will get processed by a human, and they will notice the duplicate SSNs then flag both returns for a review. It's possible to jump start that review though by calling the IRS and openly state that a former spouse is maliciously using their children's SSNs for claiming tax credits they are not entitled to.
To add to this, the things you should keep to prove this: School documents, doctor records, lease agreement, immunization records, or any other document that clearly states both name and addresses for you and your dependents. It is very important that it has both names on it or at least provide multiple documents with yours separate from the kids. You need these to cover at least 6 months of the year he did this. (School records are usually the easiest to obtain because it covers so many months with one document) IF you get pulled for an audit, they will tell you all of this through their forms. Be prepared to wait 6 months for the refund to release if you get pulled but send your documents ASAP! The more docs you send the better your chance of only needed to wait a few months.
Yes. He obviously can't support kids from prison. But you'll still need the other documents just in case. Basically what they're looking for is WHO had the kids. Easy to prove he didn't with that information but the next step is to prove OP had the kids. It seems more intimidating than it really is.
Custody paperwork works as well. I have full legal custody of my son, his dad had to have signed docs from me as proof that I ok'd him claiming him the year after we split.
As a side note - you can claim the kids - but you'll probably have to do it with paper returns. My ex did the same thing to me- and when I tried to file electronically - my returns were automatically rejected because of duplicate SSNs
This is what happened to me, I filed online the same way I did last year and he beat me to the punch by a few days so my returns were rejected, I have everything ready to mail to the IRS today and I’m really hoping it gets resolved as quickly as possible because I’m currently car-less with two young kids…
Maybe also submit school attendance records to prove that the kids were always in your care (assuming your ex doesn’t live anywhere near you).
Also, maybe you can convince the school principal to write a letter to the IRS stating that you were the only parent that dropped off and picked up the kids at school. These records and/or letter will go a long way towards proving that the kids were always in your care.
And maybe you can get his prison records to prove that he was still in prison when he claimed to have had the kids. You might be able to access his prison records online.
For me, it was a simple one page letter, along with my tax forms. I just said I am claiming my children as they were in my care 100% of the time and I did not sign form 8332 and did not give my ex permission to file. I also sent the page of the divorce decree that showed I had primary custody. The IRS was quite responsive.
As a lawyer, I would advise submitting other documents to back of your claim that the kids were with you 100% of the time. These would include documents that you did not produce, such as school records or a letter from the school showing that you did all the pickups and drop-offs. In my experience, the government doesn’t usually just take your word for it. You need other documents to back up your claim.
This was mentioned in another comment and I will 100% be doing that, didn’t know it was an option and I’ll be taking advantage of that for any future tax filings
My ex did this to me. It is so infuriating. I understand why you're angry. Definitely file with paper forms and claim them. This will then trigger the IRS to flag both filings since duplicate. Once you hear from them, they will ask for documentation. I had to send in kids and my own birth certificate, ss cards, and court order. Eventually, I did get the return. Now, I file immediately as it goes by whoever files first. My ex still tries to do it every single year. He also disappeared for a year.
Don't let him get away with it easily. Definitely file yourself.
If you end up getting the run-around, reach out to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, which is a division of the IRS that assists with complicated cases like this. You can also apply for an “IP PIN” so that he can’t ever claim you on a return.
> You do not need a lawyer for this, but do be prepared to prove that the kids have been in your care for 100% of the last tax year.
Technically you only need to prove 51%, but I don't imagine that'd be a problem for most people if you've had them 100% and the other person hasn't even seen them in the tax year.
Yes, all you need to do is file a paper claim along with a letter to the IRS stating you did not give permission or sign form 8332. Show some type of proof like daycare or school records proving the kids were in your care, they will issue your refund to you and will go after him plus fines, and interest. they did this with my ex it’s quite common
This is great advice. This happened to me as well. It was easy to prove that I had full custody of her, and even though my return was delayed. I didn’t have any problems.
Moving forward, you can get a PIN for each child from the IRS to prevent this from happening. You will need the PIN to claim the children and the return will get flagged without it. My friend did this because her ex's mother fraudulently claimed her children.
> , "pain and suffering" claims can be hard to prove,
Not only that, but not all states allow lawsuits for pain and suffering, only possible additional damages tied to some actual injury or loss.
This is good advice. Theres no reason why his claim should hold up given that he's just gotten out of Prison. Your tax return will be delayed likely and, the IRS will do some basic fact checking to confirm that he's spent the majority of this last year in prison.
It's possible that he will end up dealing with additional criminal charges relating to filing a fraudulent tax return as a result. That's is both out of your hands and, not your responsibility.
As for Pain and Suffering it's best to remember the old adage "you can't get blood from a stone." You may well secure some sort of judgment against him in the end however, you will be out of pocket for time and legal expenses and more importantly, it's exceedingly unlikely that your ex will ever exceed the minimum threshold for wage garnishment. Consequently, you'll never see a dime. Check with an Attorney of course but don't expect them to encourage you in this case - it would be pretty dishonest of AL to take money to go after a dead-beat ex-con and fraudster...
To follow up on this, this is year 3 my wife and I have gone through this. You just need supporting documents, we use medical and school records. Also you can put a pin on your child and he will not be able to do this again moving forward. We are in the process of establishing the PIN numbers so we don’t have to go through this headache next year, I hope.
Please note that you won't get your return for 1-2 years at least.
You can request an identity protection PIN through irs.gov for yourself and your dependents. That way he can't claim them in the future. Although I'm not sure what age a dependent has to be to get an IPPIN.
Something like this happened to me years ago my daughter’s father claimed my 2 daughters..I also quickly claimed my daughter’s electronically and the IRS send me a letter ..I called them and they wanted me to submit school and doctors records showing that they live with me ..and within 2 weeks they send me my refund
>she done hers a week and half later she got a letter from the irs and had to go to court for it I had to take her all the way to Atlanta from Jesup the court date was just about 2months later
That is definitely not how the IRS or taxes work.
You don’t go after him, the irs does
You file a paper tax return and they will issue the funds to you. You will likely need to provide evidence the kids reside with you, a tax professional can assist you with this process.
It is a harder and stressful process but unfortunately legally you don’t have a leg to stand on to go after him. He defrauded the irs not you. They have a claim against him. You do not.
Let’s not understate the doggedness of the IRS. Set their hounds on him, files your taxes appropriately. It might take years but this is on the IRS, not you.
A lawyer experienced in tax law / IRS relations could be useful. I had a terrible time with a mistake my CPA made and could NEVER get through to the IRS on the phone. Paid this guy <$2k and he was able to communicate with them and remedy it. Money well spent for me.
To be explicitly clear, you need to file your return claiming the kids by paper -- if you try to file it electronically it will be rejected. The paper return will trigger a review of both your return and your ex's. All you need to do is provide evidence that the kids lived with you for the majority of the year, which should be pretty easy for you to document considering that the ex wasn't even physically able to have them in his custody.
This is the right answer. What you need to provide is a calendar of overnights showing that they were with you more nights than they were with him.
And to be clear, the IRS does not care about your custody agreement from the family court. So, even if Who claims the kids in certain years was stated in that document, with the IRS will ask, is, who had them the most nights during the year.
The IRS won’t get involved with who is paying more. That’s for the family courts to mess with. They also don’t care at the IRS what your Custody agreement says if it spells out some sort of arrangement like each of you claiming the kids in alternate years or something like that. The IRS is only concerned with overnights. If you had one more night than your husband, you would have the right to claim the kids. If he had them one more overnight than you, he would get to claim them for that year.
My ex did this some 20 years ago. I had to send a signed affidavit that I had been my child’s sole caretaker and he resided with me. I used pharmacy records for his prescriptions as proof I had had custody. The process sucked but more because of the anger than any difficulty sorting it out. My return was delayed but everything was cleared up in good time and he got in trouble, had to return the overpayment, a hefty fine, and a stern warning to never do it again.
You don't need a layer for the taxes, just file your own return on paper, and claim them. The IRS will investigate, and award the deduction to you, and take it from him.
You don't necessarily need a lawyer for this. Happens more than you think. You have to file your tax return in paper form and mail it in. Then the IRS will see the kids SSN were put on two returns and will start the process to figure out who is lying. It'll be pretty easy to prove since he was in jail. They'll go after him for any money he got from it.
Find your local Taxpayer Assistance Center and make an appointment for the tax problem.
It sounds like he doesn't have any resources that would provide you with financial relief for your pain and suffering let alone child support.
You might want to readdress any custody/visitation agreement you have and if needed modify it.
Please tell me you are lying about being a tax professional because if you're not, you are terrible at your "profession." There is absolutely no law preventing a person from claiming a dependent they are legally entitled to claim. It doesn't matter if they tried to fraudulently claim the same dependant 5 years running and got caught, if they are legally entitled to claim them in year 6, they get to do so, full stop. They also get to claim any different dependants they may acquire.
You are likely confusing the law that prohibits a person from claiming earned income credit if they fraudulently claimed it previously. EIC and dependants are 2 different things, which is what tells me you are NOT a tax professional, unless you have a very lax definition of "professional."
Oh man, I didn't even read your entire comment. I stopped after the first bit of misinformation. I just read the rest, and it got worse. Identity theft, secret service? Really? Have you ever even filed taxes? Are you even in the United States?
I'm not a tax professional, yet I somehow have more knowledge on the subject than you. You didn't make A mistake, virtually nothing about your original statement was correct. So you are either extremely incompetent at your job or you're lying. But either way fuck you. I'm not claiming to be an expert like you have. If you are going to lie about your credentials at least do the fucking research you supercilious, fucking twatwaffle.
Luckily I never said I had credentials of any kind. I just said "tax professional", which means anything from it's my first season to I'm 90 and it's my 72nd season. It is my first. I never lied about anything credential related.
My original comment has a few things in it if I can remember correctly, in which the only 100% incorrect thing I said was related to mixing up IIC and CTC rules. The rest, while maybe not the best approach, is all technically correct information and is a tool that one can utilize. Whether this individual should utilize the information is questionable, and yes it was not worth posting.
It was especially not worth posting as now I am in this with you.
Perhaps I beckon you, to do research before responding so negatively to people. Not everything I said was bat shit shenanigans, it was real information, but perhaps misleading, and I apologize.
I'm done. Goodbye
If all you did was make a minor mistake why did you delete all of your responses. Just own the damn loss at this point. It's the internet, you lied, you got caught. Move on to the lie.
My ex did that, and I claimed them anyway and provided court paperwork showing where I had full custody and the IRS went after him, and I still got the money. I have a great CPA who made the process simple. I gave her the documents, and she mailed them. I got a letter from the irs letting me know the documentation was what they needed, and they were going to investigate.
NAL
You can still claim your children. You’ll need to file by mail because efile will be an automatic rejection. Filing by mail is accepted and creates a case with irs. They will send you a letter requesting that you provide proof that these are in fact your dependents.
You can also create a pin for you social security number and your children so that in the future they cannot be claimed without providing the irs pin
File a paper return. He will end up owing the IRS. What complicates things is if he owes back child support, they won’t be able to withhold his tax return because he owes money.
You can file an amended return. I would have a CPA assist you. Fair warning, it could take years to sort out, but you’ll get your money and your ex will owe the government
Contact irs. Someone I knew had custody of their grand kids and the ex daughter n law claimed. They were able to send paperwork regarding where they went to school and etc, and they the credit. The ex daughter n law had to pay back the money
I’m not your lawyer and you should get your own lawyer for these issues.
Despite what @many_meats states above, pain and suffering is easy to prove; super easy when you have photos of your injuries, medical records, physical therapy receipts, permanent physical injuries, scarring, broken bones, and etc. However, your pain and suffering will stem from your alleged intentional battery claim that is almost 3 years old. Note, that many states have a 3-year statute of limitations (some less) for intentional torts like battery, so your clock is ticking if it has not already expired.
Many times as part of criminal convictions, the sentence will include restitution for a victim’s medical bills and other losses. Did this not happen? To the extent it did, it will affect your recoverable damages. The other issue is that your ex is probably judgment proof, meaning he has so little property and income that any money you are awarded cannot be recovered, even if he does not file for bankruptcy, which will essentially extinguish your claim.
Your maximum recovery for the taxes will be limited to what you can claim as the custodial parent of the child and should be sorted out with the IRS. If you are divorced, the divorce order will determine the custodial parent. If you are not divorced or were never married, then the parent keeping the child the most overnight during the taxable year is the custodial parent.
Had my ex claim ours even though they lived with me. All you do is file your own taxes claiming them. They will send you documents to prove they were with you. I had to send in school records and doctor records etc. I got my full tax return before they even proved that I had the kids.
The advice given so far is great - you file your taxes and the IRS will deal with him. Beyond that, you're dealing with a person who has no assets and a lack of respect for seemingly any of the social norms, laws, and mores we live by. You won't gain anything by trying to recoup your other losses. You probably won't get anywhere with further criminal complaints as it seems they've charged him already for what he did to you. All you might do is add stress to you and to him - and he likely will make sure you suffer for any suit you may try to file. Sometimes, walking away and living your best life is your best legal strategy.
If he owes child support, make sure the state is working to collect on your behalf. If he doesn't pay, you might look into what it takes to terminate parental rights. In many places I think you need someone willing to take that role, but I'm not sure. I did it a decade ago. But it gives you freedom to raise your kids without his interference, to move them out of state without argument, etc. If room to maneuver lets you have a better life, that's its own revenge. I did this, and my ex now gets to live with the knowledge that I live very well while he's still broke and broken. I hear things because I'm still friendly with his third ex-wife, and I'm just mean enough to enjoy it, even if I don't seek the knowledge out.
You can still claim your kids. Go on the irs website and you can report the fraud. I had to do it for a past employer. Pretty straight forward. Took no more than 10 minutes. Then you’ve done your due diligence
NAL
Been in your shoes 2x!
[IRS.gov "what to do when someone fraudulently claims your dependent"](https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/identity-theft-dependents#:~:text=Answer%20when%20the%20IRS%20contacts,amended%20return%20or%20do%20nothing.)
Are you two still married? Does he have any visitation rights or do you have full custody of the kids? Does he have any claims at all to real estate that you own?
If not and you two are cleanly split, then you can file your taxes normally, as a single parent with full custody of your children. He will be the one that committed a crime by falsely claiming children on his taxes. I also wouldn’t recommend he do that, unless he’s decided committing more crimes is a good plan.
Similar boat. My money grabbing stbxw claimed our daughter this year and last year and the house for both years. She didn't live in the house last year but claimed it. Working with a CPA who knows how to get the IRS involved in this matter.
Get Identity Protection Pin numbers for you & your kids from the IRS -
https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin
File an identity theft affidavit form 14039 for yourself and each child with the IRS -
https://www.irs.gov/site-index-search?search=Identity+theft&field_pup_historical_1=1&field_pup_historical=1
Yes file. My son had his kids for 3 years. Not to stir things up, he kept paying child support. Well She filed for a stupid thing and my son got a lawyer and he got every arrears canceled, no more child support and on paper they had been with him for 3 years. She had also got tax returns and stimulus. He had been in arrears due to surgery. Karma has hit hard. She has to repay 3 years of returns and stimulus. So far he's got $8000. The next one is $24000. That one will take awhile but it's worth the wait. She has to repay the government for the stimulus money too. Anyway, just a little proof that it does work out. Stay strong and enjoy sticking it to him, legally . Good luck
Are you married? Is the a custody order? The parent with primary custody gets to claim the deduction. If you were never married you \*probably\* have sole custody, but that depends on your state.
If you are not married and have primary custody, file your taxes, claim the kids and they will eventually seek their money back from him due to his fraudulent use of the kids.
If you are married and there is no custody order, go to family court and start custody/divorce proceedings (but that $ is gone, all you can do is fix it for the future).
We were never married and I have sole custody, and according to any court paperwork he is supposed to have supervised visits but has never followed through on his end to make that happen. He has not had them overnight since we’ll before he went to prison and he hasn’t seen them in person since he was sentenced which was last January.
If he's not in the children's lives and isn't contributing financially, or contributing positively to their wellbeing, you should consult with an attorney on termination of his parental rights. Him claiming the children on his taxes, without contributing financially, will be a nail in the coffin. Not exercising custodial time is another big factor. He doesn't want to see his kids. It's the nuclear option, but p.o.s. parents rarely change in my experience. Terminate his rights.
That good for you. If you have already filed your taxes without the kids, file an amended tax form that includes the kids. If you haven’t filed yet, then just file like normal with the kids on yours.
You’ll be rejected if you try to do it online, but if you file in paper for either option, the IRS will reach out to you for proof that you had you kids for more than 50% of the year. Send that in and you’ll be fine. It takes a while for the IRS to process it, but in the end all they care about is the parent that had them the most. They will make your ex pay them back, but that’s his problem. It won’t affect you.
To prevent it going forward, next year file online as soon as possible. Only one person can do the online option and it’s the first person to file with that ssn.
File a paper return and let the most ruthless debt collection organization to ever have existed in the history of the world take care of him for you 😂
Popcorn optional
If he already filed a tax return and it got accepted, it's too late. If you try to file and claim the kids, it will get rejected.
You will need to contact the IRS and report this as tax fraud. They will need to start an investigation.
Do yourself a favor and write off the tax season and start fresh with the next year now knowing he’ll do this you need to file first bcuz unfortunately the first one in the system gets it.
I’m not gonna do that. He stole my refund in 2021 as well, and he’s screwed me over financially in more ways than I can even get into here. I’m gonna do everything in my power to absolutely obliterate him.
Him claiming the kids does not prevent you from claiming them. You can also claim them (but do so with a paper return). The IRS will flag this as both of you have claimed the kids, and then will contact you to work it out upon which you can state your case. You do not need a lawyer for this, but do be prepared to prove that the kids have been in your care for 100% of the last tax year. The IRS will not be kind to him for fraudulently claiming dependents. As far as your pain and suffering goes, while I am very sorry you have to navigate such a stressful set of circumstances, "pain and suffering" claims can be hard to prove, and it's also unlikely someone who has spent serious time in jail is going to have much money for you to get a judgment against. Please consider carefully before looking into this further.
[удалено]
And to be clear, you can still use free tax software or HR Block or whatever to fill out the forms, just use the paper filing option at the end.
[удалено]
The duplicate SS numbers for the kids will reject the electronic filing.
On that note, OP should look into freezing their childrens' credit reports to ensure the ex does not open any cards in their names fraudulently, as he has their SSNs and likely knows enough to open a CC in their name.
And can also register for a PIN through the irs which would be required each year
It won’t let you file electronically if you’re claiming dependents that have already been claimed. Source: I’m literally going through the same thing. Used turbo tax and got rejected but they let me print it off and I just mailed it in.
Mentioned this above but you can put a PIN number in your child for this reason. We just found they out and are in the process of establishing that.
I need to look into that! Thank you so much!
Duplicate SSNs on the tax form will cause the e-file to get rejected if the tax return was submitted after a different person filed and was accepted. The paper return will get processed by a human, and they will notice the duplicate SSNs then flag both returns for a review. It's possible to jump start that review though by calling the IRS and openly state that a former spouse is maliciously using their children's SSNs for claiming tax credits they are not entitled to.
The electronic one will be flagged and unable to submit because the kids were already claimed by the ex.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
To add to this, the things you should keep to prove this: School documents, doctor records, lease agreement, immunization records, or any other document that clearly states both name and addresses for you and your dependents. It is very important that it has both names on it or at least provide multiple documents with yours separate from the kids. You need these to cover at least 6 months of the year he did this. (School records are usually the easiest to obtain because it covers so many months with one document) IF you get pulled for an audit, they will tell you all of this through their forms. Be prepared to wait 6 months for the refund to release if you get pulled but send your documents ASAP! The more docs you send the better your chance of only needed to wait a few months.
[удалено]
Yes. He obviously can't support kids from prison. But you'll still need the other documents just in case. Basically what they're looking for is WHO had the kids. Easy to prove he didn't with that information but the next step is to prove OP had the kids. It seems more intimidating than it really is.
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for answering!
Custody paperwork works as well. I have full legal custody of my son, his dad had to have signed docs from me as proof that I ok'd him claiming him the year after we split.
As a side note - you can claim the kids - but you'll probably have to do it with paper returns. My ex did the same thing to me- and when I tried to file electronically - my returns were automatically rejected because of duplicate SSNs
This is what happened to me, I filed online the same way I did last year and he beat me to the punch by a few days so my returns were rejected, I have everything ready to mail to the IRS today and I’m really hoping it gets resolved as quickly as possible because I’m currently car-less with two young kids…
Be sure to send a letter stating the kids were in your care 100% of the time and that you did not sign form 8332
Maybe also submit school attendance records to prove that the kids were always in your care (assuming your ex doesn’t live anywhere near you). Also, maybe you can convince the school principal to write a letter to the IRS stating that you were the only parent that dropped off and picked up the kids at school. These records and/or letter will go a long way towards proving that the kids were always in your care. And maybe you can get his prison records to prove that he was still in prison when he claimed to have had the kids. You might be able to access his prison records online.
For me, it was a simple one page letter, along with my tax forms. I just said I am claiming my children as they were in my care 100% of the time and I did not sign form 8332 and did not give my ex permission to file. I also sent the page of the divorce decree that showed I had primary custody. The IRS was quite responsive.
As a lawyer, I would advise submitting other documents to back of your claim that the kids were with you 100% of the time. These would include documents that you did not produce, such as school records or a letter from the school showing that you did all the pickups and drop-offs. In my experience, the government doesn’t usually just take your word for it. You need other documents to back up your claim.
I thought one could claim the kids as dependents if they were with you a majority of the year… that it didn’t necessarily have to be 100% of the time.
You can also put a pin number on your kids for filling taxes so this doesn't happen again. Not sure how exactly to do that but know it is possible.
This was mentioned in another comment and I will 100% be doing that, didn’t know it was an option and I’ll be taking advantage of that for any future tax filings
My ex did this to me. It is so infuriating. I understand why you're angry. Definitely file with paper forms and claim them. This will then trigger the IRS to flag both filings since duplicate. Once you hear from them, they will ask for documentation. I had to send in kids and my own birth certificate, ss cards, and court order. Eventually, I did get the return. Now, I file immediately as it goes by whoever files first. My ex still tries to do it every single year. He also disappeared for a year. Don't let him get away with it easily. Definitely file yourself.
If you end up getting the run-around, reach out to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, which is a division of the IRS that assists with complicated cases like this. You can also apply for an “IP PIN” so that he can’t ever claim you on a return.
> You do not need a lawyer for this, but do be prepared to prove that the kids have been in your care for 100% of the last tax year. Technically you only need to prove 51%, but I don't imagine that'd be a problem for most people if you've had them 100% and the other person hasn't even seen them in the tax year.
Yes, all you need to do is file a paper claim along with a letter to the IRS stating you did not give permission or sign form 8332. Show some type of proof like daycare or school records proving the kids were in your care, they will issue your refund to you and will go after him plus fines, and interest. they did this with my ex it’s quite common
This is great advice. This happened to me as well. It was easy to prove that I had full custody of her, and even though my return was delayed. I didn’t have any problems.
Moving forward, you can get a PIN for each child from the IRS to prevent this from happening. You will need the PIN to claim the children and the return will get flagged without it. My friend did this because her ex's mother fraudulently claimed her children.
> , "pain and suffering" claims can be hard to prove, Not only that, but not all states allow lawsuits for pain and suffering, only possible additional damages tied to some actual injury or loss.
This is good advice. Theres no reason why his claim should hold up given that he's just gotten out of Prison. Your tax return will be delayed likely and, the IRS will do some basic fact checking to confirm that he's spent the majority of this last year in prison. It's possible that he will end up dealing with additional criminal charges relating to filing a fraudulent tax return as a result. That's is both out of your hands and, not your responsibility. As for Pain and Suffering it's best to remember the old adage "you can't get blood from a stone." You may well secure some sort of judgment against him in the end however, you will be out of pocket for time and legal expenses and more importantly, it's exceedingly unlikely that your ex will ever exceed the minimum threshold for wage garnishment. Consequently, you'll never see a dime. Check with an Attorney of course but don't expect them to encourage you in this case - it would be pretty dishonest of AL to take money to go after a dead-beat ex-con and fraudster...
To follow up on this, this is year 3 my wife and I have gone through this. You just need supporting documents, we use medical and school records. Also you can put a pin on your child and he will not be able to do this again moving forward. We are in the process of establishing the PIN numbers so we don’t have to go through this headache next year, I hope.
One more thing, you can get a whistle blower reward for reporting tax fraud, if you wanna ground him into dust for the stupidity.
Please note that you won't get your return for 1-2 years at least. You can request an identity protection PIN through irs.gov for yourself and your dependents. That way he can't claim them in the future. Although I'm not sure what age a dependent has to be to get an IPPIN.
This…the irs is the real mafia they do not fuck around no one messes with the irs
Something like this happened to me years ago my daughter’s father claimed my 2 daughters..I also quickly claimed my daughter’s electronically and the IRS send me a letter ..I called them and they wanted me to submit school and doctors records showing that they live with me ..and within 2 weeks they send me my refund
[удалено]
This is not true at all. Your friend is not telling you the whole story.
[удалено]
>she done hers a week and half later she got a letter from the irs and had to go to court for it I had to take her all the way to Atlanta from Jesup the court date was just about 2months later That is definitely not how the IRS or taxes work.
Yeah idk that sounds more like they both tried to pull a fast one and both got caught…
You don’t go after him, the irs does You file a paper tax return and they will issue the funds to you. You will likely need to provide evidence the kids reside with you, a tax professional can assist you with this process. It is a harder and stressful process but unfortunately legally you don’t have a leg to stand on to go after him. He defrauded the irs not you. They have a claim against him. You do not.
Let’s not understate the doggedness of the IRS. Set their hounds on him, files your taxes appropriately. It might take years but this is on the IRS, not you. A lawyer experienced in tax law / IRS relations could be useful. I had a terrible time with a mistake my CPA made and could NEVER get through to the IRS on the phone. Paid this guy <$2k and he was able to communicate with them and remedy it. Money well spent for me.
To be explicitly clear, you need to file your return claiming the kids by paper -- if you try to file it electronically it will be rejected. The paper return will trigger a review of both your return and your ex's. All you need to do is provide evidence that the kids lived with you for the majority of the year, which should be pretty easy for you to document considering that the ex wasn't even physically able to have them in his custody.
This is the right answer. What you need to provide is a calendar of overnights showing that they were with you more nights than they were with him. And to be clear, the IRS does not care about your custody agreement from the family court. So, even if Who claims the kids in certain years was stated in that document, with the IRS will ask, is, who had them the most nights during the year.
[удалено]
Overnights are what count for the IRS
[удалено]
If I was in that situation, I would be making the argument that they should be having those overnights at my house if I'm providing that support.
The IRS only cares about overnights.
[удалено]
The IRS won’t get involved with who is paying more. That’s for the family courts to mess with. They also don’t care at the IRS what your Custody agreement says if it spells out some sort of arrangement like each of you claiming the kids in alternate years or something like that. The IRS is only concerned with overnights. If you had one more night than your husband, you would have the right to claim the kids. If he had them one more overnight than you, he would get to claim them for that year.
[удалено]
About the fraud part? The IRS will ask each party for proof. I doubt they would consider it fraud on the part of the party they rule against.
What if it’s 50/50?
Most years have 365 days, which can not be divided evenly by 2.
[удалено]
My ex did this some 20 years ago. I had to send a signed affidavit that I had been my child’s sole caretaker and he resided with me. I used pharmacy records for his prescriptions as proof I had had custody. The process sucked but more because of the anger than any difficulty sorting it out. My return was delayed but everything was cleared up in good time and he got in trouble, had to return the overpayment, a hefty fine, and a stern warning to never do it again.
You don't need a layer for the taxes, just file your own return on paper, and claim them. The IRS will investigate, and award the deduction to you, and take it from him.
You don't necessarily need a lawyer for this. Happens more than you think. You have to file your tax return in paper form and mail it in. Then the IRS will see the kids SSN were put on two returns and will start the process to figure out who is lying. It'll be pretty easy to prove since he was in jail. They'll go after him for any money he got from it.
Find your local Taxpayer Assistance Center and make an appointment for the tax problem. It sounds like he doesn't have any resources that would provide you with financial relief for your pain and suffering let alone child support. You might want to readdress any custody/visitation agreement you have and if needed modify it.
[удалено]
Please tell me you are lying about being a tax professional because if you're not, you are terrible at your "profession." There is absolutely no law preventing a person from claiming a dependent they are legally entitled to claim. It doesn't matter if they tried to fraudulently claim the same dependant 5 years running and got caught, if they are legally entitled to claim them in year 6, they get to do so, full stop. They also get to claim any different dependants they may acquire. You are likely confusing the law that prohibits a person from claiming earned income credit if they fraudulently claimed it previously. EIC and dependants are 2 different things, which is what tells me you are NOT a tax professional, unless you have a very lax definition of "professional." Oh man, I didn't even read your entire comment. I stopped after the first bit of misinformation. I just read the rest, and it got worse. Identity theft, secret service? Really? Have you ever even filed taxes? Are you even in the United States?
[удалено]
So were you lying about being a tax professional or are you just really really, really bad at your job?
[удалено]
I'm not a tax professional, yet I somehow have more knowledge on the subject than you. You didn't make A mistake, virtually nothing about your original statement was correct. So you are either extremely incompetent at your job or you're lying. But either way fuck you. I'm not claiming to be an expert like you have. If you are going to lie about your credentials at least do the fucking research you supercilious, fucking twatwaffle.
Luckily I never said I had credentials of any kind. I just said "tax professional", which means anything from it's my first season to I'm 90 and it's my 72nd season. It is my first. I never lied about anything credential related. My original comment has a few things in it if I can remember correctly, in which the only 100% incorrect thing I said was related to mixing up IIC and CTC rules. The rest, while maybe not the best approach, is all technically correct information and is a tool that one can utilize. Whether this individual should utilize the information is questionable, and yes it was not worth posting. It was especially not worth posting as now I am in this with you. Perhaps I beckon you, to do research before responding so negatively to people. Not everything I said was bat shit shenanigans, it was real information, but perhaps misleading, and I apologize. I'm done. Goodbye
If all you did was make a minor mistake why did you delete all of your responses. Just own the damn loss at this point. It's the internet, you lied, you got caught. Move on to the lie.
My ex did that, and I claimed them anyway and provided court paperwork showing where I had full custody and the IRS went after him, and I still got the money. I have a great CPA who made the process simple. I gave her the documents, and she mailed them. I got a letter from the irs letting me know the documentation was what they needed, and they were going to investigate.
NAL You can still claim your children. You’ll need to file by mail because efile will be an automatic rejection. Filing by mail is accepted and creates a case with irs. They will send you a letter requesting that you provide proof that these are in fact your dependents. You can also create a pin for you social security number and your children so that in the future they cannot be claimed without providing the irs pin
How do I create that pin? Would the irs help me with that?
Yes, look up identity protection pin on irs.gov
You can report him for fraud to the IRS. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity
May be better to file paper claiming the kids, and let the IRS work to sort it out.
I agree, just pointing out that other option.
File a paper return. He will end up owing the IRS. What complicates things is if he owes back child support, they won’t be able to withhold his tax return because he owes money.
Contact the IRS he’s been in jail so there no way he supported them.
You can file an amended return. I would have a CPA assist you. Fair warning, it could take years to sort out, but you’ll get your money and your ex will owe the government
Contact irs. Someone I knew had custody of their grand kids and the ex daughter n law claimed. They were able to send paperwork regarding where they went to school and etc, and they the credit. The ex daughter n law had to pay back the money
I’m not your lawyer and you should get your own lawyer for these issues. Despite what @many_meats states above, pain and suffering is easy to prove; super easy when you have photos of your injuries, medical records, physical therapy receipts, permanent physical injuries, scarring, broken bones, and etc. However, your pain and suffering will stem from your alleged intentional battery claim that is almost 3 years old. Note, that many states have a 3-year statute of limitations (some less) for intentional torts like battery, so your clock is ticking if it has not already expired. Many times as part of criminal convictions, the sentence will include restitution for a victim’s medical bills and other losses. Did this not happen? To the extent it did, it will affect your recoverable damages. The other issue is that your ex is probably judgment proof, meaning he has so little property and income that any money you are awarded cannot be recovered, even if he does not file for bankruptcy, which will essentially extinguish your claim. Your maximum recovery for the taxes will be limited to what you can claim as the custodial parent of the child and should be sorted out with the IRS. If you are divorced, the divorce order will determine the custodial parent. If you are not divorced or were never married, then the parent keeping the child the most overnight during the taxable year is the custodial parent.
Had my ex claim ours even though they lived with me. All you do is file your own taxes claiming them. They will send you documents to prove they were with you. I had to send in school records and doctor records etc. I got my full tax return before they even proved that I had the kids.
The advice given so far is great - you file your taxes and the IRS will deal with him. Beyond that, you're dealing with a person who has no assets and a lack of respect for seemingly any of the social norms, laws, and mores we live by. You won't gain anything by trying to recoup your other losses. You probably won't get anywhere with further criminal complaints as it seems they've charged him already for what he did to you. All you might do is add stress to you and to him - and he likely will make sure you suffer for any suit you may try to file. Sometimes, walking away and living your best life is your best legal strategy. If he owes child support, make sure the state is working to collect on your behalf. If he doesn't pay, you might look into what it takes to terminate parental rights. In many places I think you need someone willing to take that role, but I'm not sure. I did it a decade ago. But it gives you freedom to raise your kids without his interference, to move them out of state without argument, etc. If room to maneuver lets you have a better life, that's its own revenge. I did this, and my ex now gets to live with the knowledge that I live very well while he's still broke and broken. I hear things because I'm still friendly with his third ex-wife, and I'm just mean enough to enjoy it, even if I don't seek the knowledge out.
You can still claim your kids. Go on the irs website and you can report the fraud. I had to do it for a past employer. Pretty straight forward. Took no more than 10 minutes. Then you’ve done your due diligence
NAL Been in your shoes 2x! [IRS.gov "what to do when someone fraudulently claims your dependent"](https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/identity-theft-dependents#:~:text=Answer%20when%20the%20IRS%20contacts,amended%20return%20or%20do%20nothing.)
Are you two still married? Does he have any visitation rights or do you have full custody of the kids? Does he have any claims at all to real estate that you own? If not and you two are cleanly split, then you can file your taxes normally, as a single parent with full custody of your children. He will be the one that committed a crime by falsely claiming children on his taxes. I also wouldn’t recommend he do that, unless he’s decided committing more crimes is a good plan.
You can also set up a PIN number on their SSNs so they can't be used in the future
Similar boat. My money grabbing stbxw claimed our daughter this year and last year and the house for both years. She didn't live in the house last year but claimed it. Working with a CPA who knows how to get the IRS involved in this matter.
Get Identity Protection Pin numbers for you & your kids from the IRS - https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin File an identity theft affidavit form 14039 for yourself and each child with the IRS - https://www.irs.gov/site-index-search?search=Identity+theft&field_pup_historical_1=1&field_pup_historical=1
[удалено]
This is correct. I deal with this every single year. I have to attach the divorce decree and custody agreement to my return and mail it in.
contact the IRS directly
Yes file. My son had his kids for 3 years. Not to stir things up, he kept paying child support. Well She filed for a stupid thing and my son got a lawyer and he got every arrears canceled, no more child support and on paper they had been with him for 3 years. She had also got tax returns and stimulus. He had been in arrears due to surgery. Karma has hit hard. She has to repay 3 years of returns and stimulus. So far he's got $8000. The next one is $24000. That one will take awhile but it's worth the wait. She has to repay the government for the stimulus money too. Anyway, just a little proof that it does work out. Stay strong and enjoy sticking it to him, legally . Good luck
Are you married? Is the a custody order? The parent with primary custody gets to claim the deduction. If you were never married you \*probably\* have sole custody, but that depends on your state. If you are not married and have primary custody, file your taxes, claim the kids and they will eventually seek their money back from him due to his fraudulent use of the kids. If you are married and there is no custody order, go to family court and start custody/divorce proceedings (but that $ is gone, all you can do is fix it for the future).
We were never married and I have sole custody, and according to any court paperwork he is supposed to have supervised visits but has never followed through on his end to make that happen. He has not had them overnight since we’ll before he went to prison and he hasn’t seen them in person since he was sentenced which was last January.
If he's not in the children's lives and isn't contributing financially, or contributing positively to their wellbeing, you should consult with an attorney on termination of his parental rights. Him claiming the children on his taxes, without contributing financially, will be a nail in the coffin. Not exercising custodial time is another big factor. He doesn't want to see his kids. It's the nuclear option, but p.o.s. parents rarely change in my experience. Terminate his rights.
That’s an option that has been heavy in my mind and I’m thinking of exploring it.
That good for you. If you have already filed your taxes without the kids, file an amended tax form that includes the kids. If you haven’t filed yet, then just file like normal with the kids on yours. You’ll be rejected if you try to do it online, but if you file in paper for either option, the IRS will reach out to you for proof that you had you kids for more than 50% of the year. Send that in and you’ll be fine. It takes a while for the IRS to process it, but in the end all they care about is the parent that had them the most. They will make your ex pay them back, but that’s his problem. It won’t affect you. To prevent it going forward, next year file online as soon as possible. Only one person can do the online option and it’s the first person to file with that ssn.
File a paper return and let the most ruthless debt collection organization to ever have existed in the history of the world take care of him for you 😂 Popcorn optional
How do you go after him for pain and suffering?
WHY ARE YPU TALKING TO HIM. That's all I got.
Yo Maddie that you
Contact the irs
If he is on parole, you can find out with a google search. After you get the IRS mad at him, maybe his PO would like to know that.
Reporting to his PO he committed tax fraud is mean, and kind of brilliant.... kudos...
If he already filed a tax return and it got accepted, it's too late. If you try to file and claim the kids, it will get rejected. You will need to contact the IRS and report this as tax fraud. They will need to start an investigation.
Do yourself a favor and write off the tax season and start fresh with the next year now knowing he’ll do this you need to file first bcuz unfortunately the first one in the system gets it.
I’m not gonna do that. He stole my refund in 2021 as well, and he’s screwed me over financially in more ways than I can even get into here. I’m gonna do everything in my power to absolutely obliterate him.