A friend, let's say her name is Ashley, of mine claimed one of her friend's, let's say Kim, child and I want to know if there is any penalties for this. Ashley and Kim are cousins by marriage. Ashley lived with Kim's child for over half a year. Finally, Ashley has helped with supporting Kim's child. Could Ashley go to jail?
2007-09-25 11:39:53 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
She wouldn't be likely to go to jail, but almost surely wasn't really allowed to claim this child, so if she gets caught, she'd have to pay back any amount she saved in taxes or got in EIC due to claiming the child, plus interest and penalties, and might be barred from claiming EIC for several years into the future.
Dave T is wrong in his comment that as long as nobody else was claiming the child, it would be OK - there are very specific rules that must be met to claim a dependent, and from your description, Ashley did NOT meet those rules for claiming the child. Things don't change just because nobody else claims her.
2007-09-25 12:05:58 · answer #1 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe as long as no one else claimed the child as a dependent there shouldn't be any problems. It's when you get into multiple people trying to claim the child that the IRS gets in a snit. Ask a tax lawyer to be sure though. You can also read the FAQs at irs.gov I'm sure that question has come up more than once.
Good Luck,
2007-09-25 11:49:14 · answer #2 · answered by Dave T 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋