What exactly does notice CP87A mean?

[angel_of_oz]

The other day I received a notice from the IRS. Notice CP87A

The wording on the notice is what has me confused.

Are ALL CP87A notices that are sent out worded the same?

It says "You need to review your tax return because we received a tax return from a taxpayer who used the same social security number as a dependent you listed. If this taxpayer and the person you listed as a dependent are the same person, you need to correct your tax return. Generally, someone cannot be a dependent (or a qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit) when they file their own tax return and claim an exemption for themselves."

So I called the IRS, and the lady simply told me it is a generic letter, and if I have The right to claim the dependent, just do nothing, and don't be worried about it.

The question I have, is what exactly are they saying? Are they saying they received taxes for someone using the same number as my dependent, or are they saying that me and someone else both claimed her as a dependent?

I would have though that if it was a case where two people claimed them as a dependent, it would state that 2 people cannot claim this person as a dependent. What freaks me out is the "someone cannot be a dependent when they file THEIR OWN tax return and claim an exemption for themselves".

[Luis Mopeo]

I'll take a wild guess from the way your question was written that you may suspect who might be using the number. Otherwise, if it's totally out of the blue, there could be non-tax problems with identity issues going on.

The reason they told you not to worry about it if you're entitled to the exemption is that the IRS uses a "first come first served" approach to deciding who gets an exemption for a child. It sounds like you filed before this other return, and the IRS gave you the exemption. The other person will not get the same letter. They'll get a letter that the exemption is denied and a bill for tax due.

It's not set in stone. If a person claims a dependent they're not entitled to and get their return in first, the second to file has to take steps to verify that they're actually entitled to the exemption. If the first to file is not entitled, the IRS will make the adjustment and send a bill to the first to file. If the first to file is entitled, like the IRS person said, do nothing.

[joanmcq]

If you know that someone else may have claimed the dependent, such as a spouse, or ex, then that is probably what happened, and the second person would have to prove dependency. If this is not the case, and you suspect someone may be illegally using your dependent's SSN, you may want to check with Social Security to find out if someone is working under that SSN.

[Kram BergGold]

The other possiblity

More often then not the person who was claimed as a dependent filed a return claiming his or her self. You need to contact all parties who may have claimed the person to find out what happened before jumping to any conclusionst.

[Uncle Sam]

Cp87a

At the bottom of that notice, the IRS prints out 4 Social Security numbers - one actual, and 3 with all -0-s.
Why not check the Social Security number of the dependent the taxpayer claimed, and find out if that person ALSO claimed an exemption?

[joanmcq]

I was answering as if the dependent was a child that obviously wasn't working and/or filing a return. If the dependent was a teenager/student/ had a job, I would first check if that person filed their own return. Get a lot of these when the kid gets their first job.

[angel_of_oz]

Thanks to everyone who replied.

Just to clear up a little bit of what my thoughts were...

IF it meant someone else claimed her as a dependent as well as me, then yes I would know exactly who it is. It's my daughter that is in question, and being 5 she wouldn't have filed a tax return of her own. So that would say to me her father claimed her as a dependent when he wasn't supposed to. I did go back and double check the court order to make sure it really was my year to claim her and it was.

IF it meant that someone filed taxes of their OWN with that number, that's where I would have the major issue. Could be a slip, or mix up on numbers, but if not, that's when I would worry what is going on, or if it was an identity issue. I would hate something like that to happen and me do what they said and "just ignore it".

I just expected the letter to be more clear on what exactly happened. I understand privacy issues in not giving me a name, but maybe clarity on whether it is a case of 2 people claiming her as a dependent, or me claiming her as a dependent and her having taxes filed on her own. The wording of the letter TO ME made it seem like they received taxes of her own, filed in her own name, not as if she was claimed as a dependent on someone elses return.

Gotta love the IRS :0)

[joanmcq]

Yeah, first check with dad, and see if he claimed her by mistake. If not, I would dig further. I don't remember all of the letters, but I seem to remember that the one for two different people claiming a dependent stated so; ie that it was a dependency issue and not that someone else filed an actual return with that SSN as a filer. Just to be sure, I would call Social Security and see if anyone is reporting wages under your daughter's number. Calling the IRS wouldn't hurt either.

[jim s]

Cp87a

in not a expert, but i remember when i was working for BLOCK some people were selling ss numbers in the back of the building so they can get a dependent credit, this is food for thought, in hope this is not the case with your situation...jim s.

[joanmcq]

I just got one of these, and it is the notice one gets when a dependent claims themselves. I'd check up on this one.

[angel_of_oz]

Thank you guys so much.

I don't have the best relationship with her father so I really didn't expect him to answer me. I did send a very friendly email and even explained why I asked so he didn't assume I was just accusing him, but got no response. Course had he told me he didn't, who knows if I would have believed him anyway.

I will definately check into this now. Kind of scary.

So now another question I have is why did it take so long for me to get this notice? I filed my taxes right away at the beginning of Feb and had my money back in two weeks. I just would have thought a problem would have been spotted sooner than last week. A friend of mine said something to me about the date for tax extentions was in October so could this have something to do with how long it took to be notified? I'm completely dumb when it comes to taxes lol

Also, could it be a mistake on someone elses part? Perhaps writing their social security number down wrong? Or a mishap in a tax preparer typing in the number?

[joanmcq]

Could be any of those things. And yes, the final filing date has a lot to do with it. The other return was probably filed late in the year, therefore the late date of the notice. We just got a bunch of these at my work, where all we deal with are notices.