I was thinking of you just the other day when a friend recounted nearly the same experience (her parents claimed her on their taxes when she had only stayed with them for the 2 weeks between graduating from college and going off to grad school) as yours.
She had been supporting herself in University (her parents weren’t paying her tuition or expenses) and got married in June just a couple weeks after graduation (and then promptly moved out – she and her husband got an apartment in a new town near her grad school).
When she and her husband filed their (first joint filing) taxes they found that her parents had already claimed her as a dependent on their tax return. This was back in the 1980s and apparently there was even more of a financial impact (so she says) to not being able to file as married for her..
They tried fighting it with her parents and in the end couldn’t get them to budge. They saw the refund they got by claiming her as a dependent (despite the fact she didn’t live with them – just stayed with them for 2 weeks in the summer…and she WORKED for them those whole 2 weeks!) as justified by their years of parenting her. They felt the money was “owed” to them. My friend and her husband didn’t agree – but also didn’t fight it – but they surely remember this incident bitterly to this day.
So, don’t let other family members get you down. What your mom is doing is financially to her benefit.. and essentially taking money that would otherwise be yours. To me, as a parent, I find that unbelievably selfish. Me, personally – I couldn’t knowingly take money that belonged to any other person—much less my own children!
She probably has some some perception that you “owe” her for living with her those months. I don’t see how she could possibly have correctly filed without your W2s for any income earned (though, perhaps they were mailed to that address so she had them?)..and opening mail intended for you (like your W2s) is illegal.
So, at best – she’s feeling (mistakenly) entitled and is acting in a highly self-interested manner. At worst, she’s breaking a federal law punishable by jail time:
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[www.gpoaccess.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 3, 2007]
[CITE: 18USC1702]
TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I—CRIMES
CHAPTER 83—POSTAL SERVICE
Sec. 1702. Obstruction of correspondence
Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post
office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter
or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized
depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it
has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to
obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of
another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be
fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.