irs wants my property!

What is the name of your state? maryland-the irs is after my property. after an irs investigation and my appeal for help from the irs advocate division this is what happen. from my year 2000 tax returns, I claimed my daughter who was a full time student and lived with me until October 2000. My daughter married a marine and moved to san diego. when her husband filed his 2000 federal returns he was told that he could add her, but that he had to check the box that stated that someone else could claim her. according to the irs because this allowed him to file married instead of single he received a refund, therefore I have to pay the irs $3,400. Now, the the lady that was supose to be helping me through the advocate division said "oh, you didn't do anything wrong", but I still owed the money. I'm sorry but this is not right! I have not worked since the year 2000 due to medical reasons and I do not have an income. does this sound legal? i supported my daughter 10 months of the year. i also found it odd that on my son-in-law's state tax for 2000, he did not claim my daughter and his filing status was single. can you help me?

i don't know if it is legal. do some reading, try to find out where you stand, consult with a tax pro, and especially call your congressman/senators, perhaps he/she can help motivate the irs into providing good info or working with you to resolve this matter.

can you help me?

Simply put, NO!

This case would not only involve a review of applicable tax codes, but also a review of all documents from your son-in-law's and your tax returns to the decision supporting the IRS's claim for the money.

And you can't produce those papers online. You need the services of a local tax attorney.

[abezon]

It's very simple. You cannot claim someone as a dependent if they file a joint return with someone else. The only exception is if neither spouse is required to file a return & they file jointly only to claim a refund. Since your son-in-law was in the marine corp, he earned well over the filing requirement amount. When you daughter filed jointly, you could no longer claim her. It is also too late for her to switch to a separate return.