Mom filed her as a dependent

OriginalAcekid

We have a just turned 21 full time student that’s been living with us due to a falling out with her family. She works several jobs. She is looking to file her taxes and get her refund, but we know her mom has filed her own taxes claiming her as a dependent. How does she proceed?

GeorgeM

Hello OriginalAcekid:

Your post implies that the mother’s claim of the daughter was improper given that daughter apparently has not lived with the mother, and neither does it appear that the mother is providing more than one-half of the daughter’s support. Assuming the aforementioned statements are true (the living arrangements and the lack of support) then the daughter has two options.

First, the daughter can file her tax return and report that someone has already claimed her as a dependent, in this case the daughter’s mother. The daughter will report her wages, tax withholding, and any other taxable income.

Because she will be reporting that someone has claimed her as a dependent, the daughter’s standard deduction for 2025 is limited to the greater of: (1) $1,350, or (2) her earned income plus $450 (but the total can't be more than the basic standard deduction for her filing status).

Second, and arguably the better approach, is to file a tax return and indicate that no one can claim the daughter as a dependent. Assuming the mother has already claimed her daughter as a dependent, using this second option will likely result in the daughter’s tax return being rejected because the IRS will identify the inconsistency between the daughter’s tax return and the one belonging to the mother. A rejection of this type will require that the daughter print their return and mail it to the IRS.

In connection with processing the daughter’s tax return, and noting the inconsistency with the mother’s tax return over the issue of dependency, the IRS will likely begin an investigation. Thereafter, letters will be sent to the mother and daughter requesting, at a minimum, information about the issue of dependency and whether the mother had a legal right to claim her daughter as a dependent.

As you might expect, this second option may take months to resolve; however, assuming the mother’s claim was not legitimate, the daughter should avoid arguably knowing that her mother was improperly claiming her as a dependent. Thus, perhaps the second option, while certainly more time consuming, is the better approach.