Elgin mom finally able to claim son on taxes after government insisted he was dead
ELGIN, Ill. (WLS) -- The ABC7 Consumer I-Team has an update to a story we told you about last month: a local mother told us she couldn't claim her 5-year-old son on her taxes because the federal government had him listed as deceased.
The disturbing story left many people in shock: a local mother pleading with the federal government to fix a colossal error in its system.
"I honestly think this was my only way for somebody to help me and hear my cry of me needing help," said Eboney McDaniel.
McDaniel told the I-Team that her 5-year-old son Jaxen had been listed as deceased in the government's system since 2018. The Elgin mother said it all started when her son's father passed away.
When she went to the Social Security Administration to file for death benefits, she said somehow her son was recorded as deceased instead of his father.
"They don't have the same birthday. They don't have the same first name. They don't have the same middle name," McDaniel said. "They only share the same last name."
McDaniel said the Social Security Administration eventually sent a letter saying they corrected the error: "Jaxen Dyson is not dead, his record has been corrected since 6/29/2019."
But she said when she tried to claim Jaxen on her taxes, her return was denied because he was still listed as deceased.
"That leaves me to try to figure out, where do I go? Who do I go to?" McDaniel said.
The IRS told us they couldn't share details due to federal law, but that they'd refer McDaniel to the appropriate office.
But after our story aired, McDaniel said she still couldn't claim her son on her taxes and was ready to give up - until she heard from Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents Illinois' 8th District.
"The IRS had been pointing fingers at the SSA and vice versa," Krishnamoorthi said. "But we just wanted to get to a solution, which was to make sure that Jaxen was listed as alive... Jaxen is an autistic child, and so that family has a lot of needs. Every dollar that is being denied based on this horrible falsehood means it's one less dollar that they can use to spend on their vital needs."
Shortly after the congressman got involved, McDaniel said she got a call from the IRS confirming that Jaxen was no longer listed as deceased, and she was finally able to claim him on her taxes.
"We are thankful that you guys did our story and gave us the exposure. Because you guys did, his records are now fixed," McDaniel said. "We're just happy that this is something we can put behind us now."
"Thank you for ABC 7!" Jaxen added.
Have a consumer problem you want the I-Team to investigate? Call Sam at 312-750-7TIP or submit your story using the form below.
