If you’ve ever had to deal with filing taxes, you’ll know that they can be complicated. The IRS requires you to report every penny you earn, even if it’s from babysitting or tutoring.
Also, if you don’t pay enough taxes, you could face penalties and interest charges.
However, if you’re dealing with a divorce, things get even trickier. Your former spouse might claim their kids as dependents on their tax return, even though they live with you.
This means you could owe thousands of dollars in back taxes. Fortunately, there are ways to fight this. You can file an amended tax return to dispute the amount your ex-spouse claims their children are worth.
Or, you can sue them for claiming their kids as dependents.
In this article, we will be discussing everything you need to know about suing your ex for claiming your child on their taxes.
What Is Filing An Amended Tax Return?
The first thing you should do is talk to your accountant. They will be able to tell you whether you have grounds to file an amended tax return. If you do, here’s how it works:
You file a separate return for each year.
You include all the information required by the IRS.
You add up everything you earned during the year.
You then compare that total to what your ex claimed their children were worth.
If the numbers don’t match, you can amend your return.
This process takes time, so make sure you plan ahead. If you want to file an amended return, you need to send it to the IRS at least three months before the end of the year.
How Much Will It Cost To File A Suit Against My Ex?
There are two different types of suits against your ex for claiming your children on their taxes:
A civil suit.
An administrative hearing.
In both cases, you must hire an attorney who specializes in family law. In addition, you’ll likely need to pay court costs.
Civil Suits
These suits aren’t filed through the courts. Instead, they’re handled by a private arbitrator. You’ll usually have to meet certain requirements, such as being a resident of the state where the arbitration took place.
When you file a civil suit against your ex, you’ll need to provide evidence that they made false statements on their tax returns. You also need to prove that your ex doesn’t actually care about supporting his or her children.
Administrative Hearings
These hearings take place within the IRS. At the beginning of the case, you’ll fill out forms that ask questions about your income and expenses. Then, you’ll have to give testimony in front of an IRS employee.
Afterwards, the IRS will decide whether, or not, your ex owes you money. If they do, they’ll issue a final decision.
How Long Does It Take To Get Money From My Ex?
It depends on several factors, including whether, or not, you win the lawsuit. However, most people receive their money within six months.
If you lose, you may still be entitled to some of the money owed to you. However, it’s better to file a suit than wait around hoping your ex pays you.
Who Can Claim Your Child On Their Tax Return?
There are a couple of rules when it comes to parents that have split up and taxes. When it comes to parents that are divorced, then a child may be claimed in this situation by more than one person.
In some cases, you need to alternate the years that each parent can claim they are the dependent of the child in question. This is because both parents can’t be the dependent in the same tax year.
As a result, one person is allowed to receive the tax benefits of claiming to be a dependent of a child. This rule does not count when the parents are married and filing a joint return.
However, the person who generally should be claiming should be able to fit into these requirements.
The child is under 19 years of age or is in full time education and under 24 years old. However, this child must live with you for more than half of the year.
Alongside also the child must be receiving around 50% of their financial support from you. The parent who has the child for the majority of the time is the one who would then qualify to claim the child as a dependent on their tax return.
Get Your Tax Return In Early
If you are concerned about your ex filing your child on their tax return, then it is important that you can get your tax return filed as soon as you can.
You want your return to be processed before your ex’s this will then help reduce any issues. This will then decrease the chances of you having to disturb your ex’s claim.
However, you should be prepared for your ex to disturb your claim. Although, if you have main custody of the children, then your claim will be carried through and your ex’s will be rejected.
Conclusion
You can sue your ex for claiming your child on their tax return. It is important to talk about the tax returns before either of you file for it, as you may want to come to an agreement to alternatively claim for the child every other tax year.
However, if you have sole custody or look after your children for the majority of the time, then you are entitled to claim for your children on your tax than your ex.
There are two ways in which you can sue your ex, and both are effective. First you can dispute the claim and then afterwards if you still aren’t happy or feel as if your ex has lied. Then you can sue them and take them to court.
We hope this article has helped you to understand what you can do if your ex has claimed your children on their taxes and whether you can sue them.
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