Hello, I would like some advice regarding dependency claims and how the IRS gives notice.
Today I received notice of a certified letter from the IRS which I will be picking up tomorrow but I am totally stumped.
The letter came addressed to me with my former last name that I changed when I remarried 3 years ago~ this indicates to me that whatever they’re contacting me about is from before then. I researched the IRS site and various forums for possible contact reasons of such an urgent nature and I don’t fit any of those scenarios. I have not been notified of any kind of action or problem by regular mail or in any way and have never owed.
My taxes have always been uncomplicated- military paycheck, no house, no investments, no loan interest, single mom for many years, a couple of years with 6 months of Combat Tax Exclusion and standard deductions. Any child care or child tax credit was a no-brainer (lower income) and the numbers always matched what I received from daycare. I have always got several thousand dollars in my returns and only recently made changes on my W4 to prevent giving Uncle Sam an interest free loan. This year, my husband and I got over 10K back and that was the prompt to get smarter about how much we pay each paycheck. I only mention this because I can’t imagine a mistake that would cause me to owe anything, I was never even close.
I married my current husband 3 years ago and we have filed joint every year with no problems~ again, mostly uncomplicated, just the addition of taxes associated with home ownership but this letter was specifically addressed to me, not both of us.
I have a nagging concern that this has something to do with my ex-husband. I was married to him for 3 years-2 of those years we did not live together and we finally divorced in 2003. He left the marriage shortly after my child turned one and I didn‘t hear from him until 9 months later at tax time. He mailed me a POA to do our taxes and when I filed, all but $7.00 of the $2K+ return was “taken” because he had some sort of Federal debt and was off the radar. I lost contact again after I told him that he wasn’t getting any of the return and saved every dime I had to pay for a divorce. The reason that I think this has something to do with him is because several years ago I was informed by my former in-laws that he was in “trouble” with the IRS because (they thought) that he was claiming my daughter and I as dependants on his taxes- a gutsy, stupid move because the divorce decree (he has never received a copy because he refused service) gives me the right to claim my daughter, he owes 18K in child support and he has never been able to claim me as a dependant- I was head of household for those 3 years. I do remember that in 2004 he called me out of the blue to ask for our SSN’s and I refused to give them to him- he said it was because he was trying to set up some kind of investment for us-which I knew was a lie. His father did have our SSN’s though, because when I deployed in 2002, I gave both him and my parents (who had my daughter) a copy of my orders in case anything happened to me. It didn’t make sense and I was suspicious but I didn’t worry about it because the IRS did not contact me about his taxes- I even called once and they wouldn’t give me any info because we weren’t married. Just in case he does try to pull that stunt, I always file the first week of Jan.
So, my questions are: Would the IRS come after me if an unauthorized person claimed me and my child? Would they wait so many years? Whatever this notice is, it has to be regarding a tax season prior to 2008 because of the name on the letter and my current filing status. Any ideas? If it is my ex’s doing, am I going to be held liable for his fraudulent claims because the IRS can’t find him? I can’t afford to deal with this and he is so irresponsible that he doesn’t even read his mail, he pulls it from the box and throws it in the trash- he would be totally uncooperative because he just doesn’t care.
Thanks!
Today I received notice of a certified letter from the IRS which I will be picking up tomorrow but I am totally stumped.
The letter came addressed to me with my former last name that I changed when I remarried 3 years ago~ this indicates to me that whatever they’re contacting me about is from before then. I researched the IRS site and various forums for possible contact reasons of such an urgent nature and I don’t fit any of those scenarios. I have not been notified of any kind of action or problem by regular mail or in any way and have never owed.
My taxes have always been uncomplicated- military paycheck, no house, no investments, no loan interest, single mom for many years, a couple of years with 6 months of Combat Tax Exclusion and standard deductions. Any child care or child tax credit was a no-brainer (lower income) and the numbers always matched what I received from daycare. I have always got several thousand dollars in my returns and only recently made changes on my W4 to prevent giving Uncle Sam an interest free loan. This year, my husband and I got over 10K back and that was the prompt to get smarter about how much we pay each paycheck. I only mention this because I can’t imagine a mistake that would cause me to owe anything, I was never even close.
I married my current husband 3 years ago and we have filed joint every year with no problems~ again, mostly uncomplicated, just the addition of taxes associated with home ownership but this letter was specifically addressed to me, not both of us.
I have a nagging concern that this has something to do with my ex-husband. I was married to him for 3 years-2 of those years we did not live together and we finally divorced in 2003. He left the marriage shortly after my child turned one and I didn‘t hear from him until 9 months later at tax time. He mailed me a POA to do our taxes and when I filed, all but $7.00 of the $2K+ return was “taken” because he had some sort of Federal debt and was off the radar. I lost contact again after I told him that he wasn’t getting any of the return and saved every dime I had to pay for a divorce. The reason that I think this has something to do with him is because several years ago I was informed by my former in-laws that he was in “trouble” with the IRS because (they thought) that he was claiming my daughter and I as dependants on his taxes- a gutsy, stupid move because the divorce decree (he has never received a copy because he refused service) gives me the right to claim my daughter, he owes 18K in child support and he has never been able to claim me as a dependant- I was head of household for those 3 years. I do remember that in 2004 he called me out of the blue to ask for our SSN’s and I refused to give them to him- he said it was because he was trying to set up some kind of investment for us-which I knew was a lie. His father did have our SSN’s though, because when I deployed in 2002, I gave both him and my parents (who had my daughter) a copy of my orders in case anything happened to me. It didn’t make sense and I was suspicious but I didn’t worry about it because the IRS did not contact me about his taxes- I even called once and they wouldn’t give me any info because we weren’t married. Just in case he does try to pull that stunt, I always file the first week of Jan.
So, my questions are: Would the IRS come after me if an unauthorized person claimed me and my child? Would they wait so many years? Whatever this notice is, it has to be regarding a tax season prior to 2008 because of the name on the letter and my current filing status. Any ideas? If it is my ex’s doing, am I going to be held liable for his fraudulent claims because the IRS can’t find him? I can’t afford to deal with this and he is so irresponsible that he doesn’t even read his mail, he pulls it from the box and throws it in the trash- he would be totally uncooperative because he just doesn’t care.
Thanks!
