I would lke to ask a question about the irs?

Question

i had my mother claim two of my kids and i was on foodstamps and i let my mother claim my kids and she got a letter in the mail saying that they are going to audit her do you know why? please explain i thank you .

Answer 1

You mother will now have to provide proof that the children were in her household, such as school records, doctor bills etc.

But if you are receiving food stamps then should didn't provide food for them b/c you had food stamps to feed them.

Good luck! Hopefully she didn't spend the refund yet, seems like IRS will want it back.

Answer 2

You can't just "let" her claim your kids.  She must be able to prove that the kids lived with her for at least 6 months of the year in question.  If she can prove that, she will be OK.  If she can't (or they didn't live with her), she will have to get out the checkbook.

Answer 3

a) Sometimes they audit randomly even if there are no red flags -- basically a random check to be sure people are honest.

b) She may not legally have been able to claim your kids.  Is she providing at least half their total support?  DId anyone else claim them?  Check the IRS website for rules governing dependents.

Answer 4

Wayne is the only person who seems to have read IRS publication 501.  The rules changed in 2005 (THREE years ago) when it comes to claiming children.

The letter your mother got simply said that the IRS wants to VERIFY that she was eligible to claim your children (you can't just "let" her).

In order for your mother to claim the children as "qualifying children," she must show that the children:

a) are related to her by blood or marriage.

b) that the children did not support themselves

and c) lived with her for more than 6 months during 2007

The obvious question to ask is where were the children living.  If you and your children were living with her, this is not a problem.  If you and the your children were living somewhere else, then she can't meet this test, can't claim them and will have to pay back any erroneous refund she received.

There is a second way to claim a dependent on a tax return, but if a child is already eligible to be claimed as a "qualifying child" by *you,* then the child cannot be claimed as a qualifying relative by anyone else.  (A "qualifying relative" has the requirement that the dependent is supported by the person claiming him.)

(PS, you mentioned that you get foodstamps.  I also believe that when you applied for foodstamps, you would have told the state where you were living and who was living with you.  The IRS probably had access to that database.)

Answer 5

First, this may be what is called a "desk audit"; your mother may just need to answer a few questions to verify her eligibility to take the kids as dependents.

First, if she can take YOU as a dependent (not out of the realm of possiblity if your income is less than $3500), then she can probably take all of your kids as dependents.  A dependent cannot claim additional dependents.

Otherwise, if the kids live with you, and not with her, and you provide more than half of their "support", then only you can claim the kids.

Otherwise, if, between the two of you, you provide more than half their support, you (together with any qualifying relative who supplies over 10% of their support) can agree as to who gets the deduction.  Form 2120 is recommended to be filed by the person taking the deduction, and certifying that she has signed statements from all the people named that they are NOT taking the deduction.

"Support" is a complicated issue; please see publication 501 for _guidelines_.

Answer 6

Did the kids live with her for over half the year?  If not, she isn't allowed to claim them.  If they did, the IRS is probably just asking for proof.  There is a lot of fraud with claiming kids, and parents who can't claim kids sometimes let someone else claim them illegally, so the IRS does a lot of audits to be sure that the other person is legally allowed to claim them.  If the kids did live with grandma (whether you did or not) for over half the year, she'll just have to show some kind of proof that they really did.  If they did NOT live with her, her claim will most likely be disallowed unless she can prove that she paid over half of their support - then she might be able to claim them, but not for a child tax credit or EIC

Answer 7

it sounds as if you and your mother may have been committing tax fraud and/or food stamp fraud and there are serious consequences to this for both of you

IF she and not you, is supporting your children, then you could be required to pay back the foodstamps

IF you and not she, are supporting your children, then she can be required to pay back the EIC and any excess refund she received, and you as well if she handed any part of it over to you

There are rules for who is able to claim children and you can not just decide to LET some one else claim them just because there is a large EIC available.  The IRS may be asking for proof because some one else also claimed them, just a random check, or due to crosschecks with other agencies, or because some one else claimed them the prior year.  This means school enrollment forms, food stamp enrollment forms, ADC, WIC, showing with whom children lived.

BEST for both of you to get everything straightened out as soon as possible, to pay back what you owe ASAP, and get out from under this.

Answer 8

Because she claimed your kids.  Tax fraud is frowned upon.

Answer 9

They are going to audit her probably because she claimed children that are not legally hers. I would make sure that you have ALL of you documentation about who,why,when you decided to have your mother claim your children on her taxes. Good luck

Oh I would also look at www.usa.gov and see what the laws say about it, just because it is "legal" in your state the law nationally can override that.

Answer 10

Did you recieve enuff food stamps for you and your kids?  were they in your care or hers?  Children can only be claimed by one person.... even when a couple are together... even married, the person with the least income claims them.

Answer 11

To claim a child you must have provided half of their living expenses for the year.

Answer 12

There are only a few circumstances in which people can simply agree between them who will claim a dependent.  One is in the case of non-custodial spouses, the other is if a child meets the definition of a Qualifying Child for more than 1 person.

If your mother claimed the children improperly, she would have her taxes adjusted upwards for the disallowed deductions.   Worse, if she claimed the Earned Income Credit and did not qualify to do so, there could be more severe repercussions.