False filing?

Question

I got married on 2006. I filed my last year filing married seperate. This year we filed joint. We were to to receive $2041.00 but got back 378.22 because in 2005 my husband had custody of their son and he was living with him, he filed for EIC. My husbands ex filed for EIC on their son, same as she did in 2005. Now they took OUR taxes for overpayment and she got to keep her money and they took ours. What do we do

Answer 1

I'm confused.  But it sounds like you need to call the IRS - 1-800-TAX-1040 and talk to someone there.  

If your husband had custody of the son and the son lived with your husband, then in most cases your husband should have received the money.  But if he signed off to let her claim the son, or there is a court order, or he did not provide the proper documentation or she provided false documentation, then the IRS would give the money to her...

Answer 2

Your hubby overlooked some paperwork.  

When both parents claimed the same child for EIC, the IRS had to resolve the issue.

The IRS would have asked both parents to show that they were entitled to claim the child.  

For this purpose, the minimum requirement was the child had to live with him for more than 6 months out of the year.  If the parents lived together for any part of 2005, the IRS would add that it had to be the parent with the greatest number of nights.  If the parents had the same number of nights or "joint custody" such that the IRS couldn't make a determiniation, they had to default to either the highest AGI or who had legal custody.

From what you describe, the IRS determined that the mom met the requirements and your hubby didn't.  Your husband would have been informed of this and would have gotten information on how to do an audit reconsideration.

Unless you live in one of the 3 community property states where you marry into his IRS debt, you may be eligible to file a form 8379 and request that your share of the refund be sent to you...but that would just cause the amount he owes to go back up and he'd get a bill....

Answer 3

When EIC is disallowed, the IRS sends a letter requesting more information.  If the taxpayer ignores the letter, the chance at getting the EIC is gone, even if the taxpayer qualifies for EIC.

At this point, if you had income and part of the refund is yours, you may file an injured spouse claim, Form 8379, to recover your refund.