Is the IRS Saying You Need to Send Proof of Your Dependents?

It’s so frustrating when you’ve been caring for a child, you claim the child on your tax return, and then the IRS asks you to prove it.  But the law gives them the right to do that, and it doesn’t even require the IRS to tell you why they are asking for the proof.

So, if you get a letter from the IRS saying that they want proof that you have the right to claim the dependents you claimed, here is some basic but important information to know.

A qualifying child is a child who is related to you and who has lived with you for at least six months of the year. A qualifying child is the category of dependent that can get you the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.

If the child is yours, proving the relationship is usually as simple as providing the child’s birth certificate.

If it is a grandchild, sibling, niece, or nephew, you may also have to show the birth certificate of the child’s parent and your birth certificate to prove the relationship. For step-children, a marriage certificate to the child’s biological parent will work. Court paperwork showing the relationship can also be used in cases of adoption, foster parenting, or if you are the child’s parent but your name isn’t on the child’s birth certificate.

Proving residency (that the child lived with you for at least six months of the year) can be trickier, especially if the IRS is asking for proof from an older year.

Generally, the IRS wants to see at least two documents from the year that the tax return is from, that cover at least 6 months, and it wants those documents to have the child’s name and the address where the child was living at that time.  So, if the IRS is now saying you need to prove you had a right to claim the dependents you claimed on your 2023 tax return, that means the IRS wants to see paperwork from 2023.  If the paperwork is from 2023 and has your child’s name and your address on it, it will probably work.  The IRS likes school or medical records with this information, but paperwork from other government offices and organizations, including religious organizations, could also work.

Similarly, if you just filed your 2020 tax return this year, and the IRS is now asking about it, they want to see paperwork from 2020.

If you don’t have paperwork from the year that the IRS is asking about, you can also get a letter from your child’s school, medical provider, or from some other governmental agency or organization, but you need to make sure that the letter states that the child lived with you during the year that the IRS is asking about and lists the address where you lived with the child.  The letter should be on official letterhead, with the name, address, and phone number of the person who is signing the letter.

Gathering this paperwork can be a real hassle, but it is the quickest way to resolve things with the IRS. Also, there are all kinds of unique situations that don’t always fit into the IRS’s boxes, including temporary absences.  

But don’t give up! If the facts are on your side, there is usually a way to win. And the IRS has to allow you to take them to Tax Court before they can officially deny your claim for dependents!

If you are having trouble proving your right to claim dependents to the IRS, check out our webpage https://philalegal.org/resources/responding-irs-audit-if-you-claimed-kids-your-taxes and call us to see if we can help! Call our intake at 215-981-3800 between 9:30am and 12pm Monday through Thursday or apply online at philalegal.org/apply.