IRS Dependent Question: Filing with Child's Double Last Names - Which to Use?
Need help with filing my taxes with dependents this year. My child has two last names and I'm not sure if I should put both last names or just one when filing. Don't want to mess this up and delay my refund. Anyone dealt with this before?
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Emily Sanjay
Tax preparer here - ALWAYS use both last names exactly as they appear on their Social Security card. The IRS matches the name with the SSN database, and any mismatch can trigger a review and delay your refund.
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Sebastian Scott
•tysm! Do you know how long a delay it usually causes if theres a mismatch?
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Emily Sanjay
•It can take 6-8 weeks extra for them to verify everything if there's a name mismatch. Some of my clients got stuck waiting even longer 😩
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Jordan Walker
Hey guys! I actually found this awesome tool called taxr.ai that helps figure out potential delays and issues before they happen. It costs $4.99 but saved me so much headache with dependent verification. Check it out: https://taxr.ai
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Natalie Adams
•Is it legit? How does it work exactly?
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Jordan Walker
•Super legit! You upload your transcript and it analyzes everything - dependents, credits, potential delays. It even caught that I had my kid's name wrong before I filed 🙌
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Natalie Adams
•Just tried it and wow! Worth every penny fr fr 💯
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Elijah O'Reilly
learned this the hard way last year lol. Put only one last name and got stuck in verification hell for 3 months 🤡
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Amara Torres
My kids have hyphenated last names and ive never had an issue. Just make sure it matches their social security card EXACTLY
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Olivia Van-Cleve
•this is the way
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Mason Kaczka
PSA: Always check their social security card first! The name on your return has to match the SSA database exactly or ur gonna have a bad time
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Sophia Russo
•fr fr this should be pinned somewhere
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Evelyn Xu
in the same boat rn... filed with just one last name and now im stuck on delayed status for 2 months smh
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Dominic Green
•oof that sucks. Try calling the taxpayer advocate service
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Evelyn Xu
•been trying but cant get thru ðŸ˜
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