Taxes - Jamestown,NY

No he has visitation but hadn't set up anything to see them, and hes suppose to pay child support but doesnt.

File taxes on your own and let the IRS figure it out.

My daughter filed her taxes claiming her kids that we have guardianship of. We did too. The IRS caught it and she had to repay them. If you have legal custody of them it is your right to file taxes with them on your forms.

You have no control over anything anyone but yourself. If he files and you file you have the law on your side.

Does your custody agreement address the tax dependency at all? It should have. Did your husband formally give up all parental right to court (not just sole legal and physical custody but rather all parental rights)? If he did not have any parental rights on 12/31, then he probably can't LEGALLY claim the kids. However, if he files first, it won't get caught. If you also file for the dependency and he filed first, it may delay your taxes, but the IRS will get it figured out with you guys and he may be required to return that portion that he wrongfully claimed. Just because someone gets their taxes in first doesn't mean that they legally get to claim the exemption and doesn't mean the IRS won't come right back on them. If you claim the dependency, you just need to make sure you have the legal right to do so...same with him. Ridiculous that this is not part of your custody/divorce decree.

Be sure to file before he does, that's gonna be the easiest route...

I'm sorry you have to worry about this. I was worried my mother in law was going to claim my husband again this year. I know how stressful it can be. Nobody could figure out how my mother in law always got back so much money on taxes without having a job. A year later she got audited for claiming her daughter who is 22 years old. She now has to pay that money back.

Try not to be too stressed because dishonest people always get caught sooner or later. I would try and file asap if you could and then after call the IRS. Good luck and I'm sure everything will be fine. Especially since he doesn't even have legal custody anymore.

Kind of complicated but he can't claim them. Still you best get your taxes in before him.

Whomever files first gets the money first; not saying that that is the right thing to do. If you got yours done before him, he would have to fight you on that money, cuz you have the letter from him from June 5th.

It sounds like he had custody of them for 7 months, even though you were in the house for a couple of those months. This year, I think they are his to claim. After that, they are yours forever.

Consult a tax accountant immediately!

Can you prove that your children lived with you for more than half the year? If so, then you can claim them on your taxes, as well as filing "head of household". Try using TurboTax...its great at asking you all types of questions to get you the most out of your deductions. Hope this is helpful.

Did their father actually "give up rights" as in he is not legally responsible in any way and does not have to pay child support because he is no longer legally the father? Or did he simply wave his rights to visitation giving you sole physical custody? Those are two vastly different things. The first is extremely rare outside of an adoption situation.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/A-"Qualifying-Child"

If a child is claimed as a qualifying child by two or more taxpayers in a given year, the child will be the qualifying child of:

1 - the parent;
2 - if more than one taxpayer is the child’s parent, the one with whom the child lived for the longest time during the year, or, if the time was equal, the parent with the highest AGI;
3 - if no taxpayer is the child’s parent, the taxpayer with the highest adjusted gross income (AGI).

You should probably get to claim the children for at least half of the year-when you had complete custody. Ask an accountant.