What is considered proof for the IRS?

[cnewton83]

My ex and I are going through a child custody case and in August I was awarded a "temporary order of possession" stating that our son has already been living with me  for 2 months. I've already done my taxes and have received my return but now she is attempting to claim him. I don't know the exact number of days he's been in my care but I do know it's been since the end of June. I know at some point I will receive a letter from the IRS asking the both of us to show proof that he's been in one of each other's care for the allotted amount of days.  What is considered proof other than legal court documentation ? 

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Here's some references:

https://www.thebalance.com/claiming-same-dependent-audit-risk-3193030

http://taxes.about.com/od/dependents/qt/Dependents-Audits.htm

www.eitc.irs.gov/EITCCentral/f886-h-dep.pdf 

The child's school records showing your address is a biggie

[Hal_Al]

There is a way to split the tax benefits. For future negotiations with the other parent (and maybe even for this year) the following info may be of use:

 There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status, and day care credit. This "splitting of the child" is not available to parents who lived together at any time during the last 6 months of the year; then only one of you can claim the child for any tax reasons. The tax benefits may not be split in any other manner.

Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the exemption to him.
 So, it's good idea to let the other parent know that you will be claiming those items, as many first time divorced parents are not aware of this rule and may try to claim those items, which will cause the IRS to send out letters.
Ref: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2014_publink1000170897">http://www.irs.gov/publi...> Scroll down to "Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart)"