Claiming Dependents

[J12345]

Hi guys!

I had a quick question on claiming dependents. Suppose "A" lives with both parents and has a younger sibling (18 y/o full-time student who also lives with same parents under one roof). Suppose A would like to claim the student under his/her taxes because A  provides full support, all the while parents relinquish Student as a dependant to A. Under these circumstances,  will it be OK for A to claim Student on their taxes? Eventhough both A and Student live with their parents?

[MDM]

Take a look at qualifying child flowchart 11-11-14 and tables_1_2_4012.pdf.  What is your self-diagnosis?

[J12345]

Thank you, that really helped! One more question: we've already filed the dependent student under "A" for the past 2 years even though A doesn't generate more income than his/her parents. According to the flow chart and under the "tie-breaker" rule, the dependent student doesn't qualify as a dependent for "A" but rather their parents. Which is confusing to add since our tax preparer didn't bother to factor that in when completing the return. We don't want to unintentionally commit fraud or negligence for something we were unaware of. Is this something that needs attention or a "talking to" for our tax preparer?

[MDM]

Is this something that needs attention or a "talking to" for our tax preparer?

Yes, you should discuss this with your preparer.  It's much easier to get to the heart of the issue in a face to face (or at least a phone) conversation than via an internet forum. ;

Having done your homework here, you may (or may not) find that you are more aware of the nuances than the preparer - but among all of you the true answer should emerge.  Good luck!

[secondcor521]

You may want to go back and file amended returns if needed to correctly report the dependent for previous years.  This would probably involve eight amended tax returns - one for A and one for the parents for federal and state for last year and the year before.

If the facts were presented to the tax preparer and the tax preparer did not complete the tax forms correctly, then the tax preparer should do the amended returns for free.  If A or the parents didn't provide the correct information or didn't answer the tax preparer's questions correctly, then you'd probably have to pay to have them redone.