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Sometime after petitioner had filed his 2005 return,
petitioner mailed to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) two
additional returns for 2005 that were intended to be amended
returns. On one return, the two children claimed as dependents
were listed as “adopted” children, and on the other return he
again claimed the same two children as dependents but also
claimed their mother as a dependent. Neither of the two amended
returns was accepted by the IRS.2
Dependency Exemption Deductions
The first issue is whether petitioner is entitled to claim
dependency exemption deductions for two children of the woman
with whom he lived. Under section 151(a), a taxpayer may be
entitled to a dependency exemption deduction for each of his or
her dependents. However, a taxpayer is entitled to claim a
dependency exemption deduction only if the claimed dependent is a
qualifying child or a qualifying relative under section 152(c) or
(d). Under section 152(c)(1)(A), a qualifying child is a child
who bears a relationship to the taxpayer under section 152(c)(2).
That relationship, for purposes of this case, exists if the
claimed dependent is either a child of the taxpayer or a
2 At trial, petitioner explained that the purpose of one of
the amended returns was to clarify that the two claimed dependent
children on the original return were not his niece and nephew,
but because he and the mother of the children were planning to
marry, the two children would be considered “adopted children”
and thus qualify as dependents. The second amended return
included the same two children and also the mother as dependents.
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Last modified: March 27, 2008