I was laid off in February of 2009. My mother took care of my son while I looked for work both in state and out of state and also after I found employment while I did training (till October 2009). I allowed her to claim him as a dependent this year when she filed taxes. I did not claim him and he has no father to claim him. My mother provided more than half of his support. We are now being asked to provide proof of relationship and residency. Ok relationship is not a problem I have my birth certificate and his. But how do I prove residency?
We did not change his doctors, and did not make him change schools for his last year at the jr. high. There was no social agency involved nor a church. I am thinking I as the parent can't even prove my child lives with me now that he is back home. What do we do?
How do we prove residency for a grandchild claimed as a dependant?
what address was he registered with the school? did you have your parents as persons to notify in case of emergency at the school?
do your parents have neighbors who might testify to his being with your parents 6 months?
How do we prove residency for a grandchild claimed as a dependant?
If your mother is outside the school district, you have a problem. Once he moved, he was to change schools. You failed to tell the school (or anyone else) and you created a legal fiction that he was still living with you. Your mom will lose the HOH, EIC, etc.
You make a note to yourself that if similar circumstances ever present themselves again that you will notify the relevant players of the change in his living arrangements. If that means that he needs to change schools or physicians, so be it. By not doing so you have muddied the audit trail to the point that the IRS will probably deny what your mother cannot prove.
The school and medical records will prove that he lived in YOUR home, not your mother's so if you claimed him your claim could be substantiated even though technically it might be based upon inaccurate information. Your absence from the home was temporary so even if he spent more than half of the year with his grandmother, he spent more than half of it with you as well since temporary absences don't impact the residency test.
I would provide her with a sworn statement of the facts in the matter and see if the IRS allows it. If she can get one or more sworn statements from disinterested 3rd parties (such as her neighbors) who have actual knowledge of where the child was living that may help as well. At the very least this would help avoid an IRS ban on future EIC claims for flagrant disregard of the rules. You didn't disregard the rules in this case, you just don't have a lot of proof and that's an important consideration.
If the IRS denies her claim anyway, file an amended return yourself and claim the child and any other benefits. The existing records will substantiate your claim and your temporary absence while seeking employment and completing training won't affect the residency test for you.
