[Luke+Dawn]

I received a letter in the mail from the IRS (doom doom doom). It seems like "another taxpayer" used Tyler's SS# to claim him as a dependent. He was in our custody as a foster child the entire year. So, we claimed him as a dependent.

And now, I get this letter which is making me a nervous wreck. I used Turbo Tax to complete our taxes and followed every rule to the nose.

I verifed his SS# with DYFS. The number matches what we have.

Has anyone experienced this? What do I have to do? I am calling them later this morning.

[RandomReality]

Get a good accountant. Quick. And get his SS# changed.

[piglets]

from what I have heard you can't claim a foster child as a dependant..since the state pays you the child is a product of the state and they have the right to claim..Also, if child has been in families care for at least 6months of the year they can claim

[vernellinnj]

I have always use a professional, cpa, to do my taxes. I have claimed my foster children if I had them more than 6 months. I trust my accountants judgement as he's pretty conservative. I also claim the $5k + daycare expenses that I pay out of pocket.

Motherhood is expensive!

[Happy123]

So long as you have had the child in your home for more than 6 months, you can claim them as a dependent.
I actually had this happen to me. I called the IRS and explained that the child was a FC in my home for over 9 months of that year. The IRS worker told me that not to worry, they documented it, and were going to send out a letter to the people who claimed her. Of course, they would not tell me who that was. I suspect it was a previous FC home that lost their license due to abuse. I never heard back....thankfully.
Good Luck,
Happy123