I was reading posts related to this issue however I want to be sure I'm understanding it...
My daughter's father and I, never married, have signed a custody agreement stating that we will take turns claiming our child on taxes.
In case it makes a difference ,
**He has failed to pay child support all year. He has made some payments randomly but, not a full month of ordered support. ($590 per month ordered support vs a total of $2,400 that he actually paid this whole year) **Our child lives with me full-time and visits him for weekends and holidays.
I have 3 questions:
1) Can he legally claim her if she lives with me and he hasn't paid support, even with the custody agreement? ( Agreement states "if the parent is unable to claim the deduction, the other parent is allowed to claim...)
2) I am under the impression that for the EITC, I would still claim her as a dependent,while he would claim ONLY the CTC. I could still also claim head of household. Is that correct?
3) we have a long distance parenting plan which requires me to drive several hours ,and stay overnight in a hotel , to accommodate his visits. Is there anywhere or anyway to include that as a deduction under childcare tax credit, or any other credit or deduction?
I am self employed and my taxes are 13%. It is a newly signed custody agreement so I have been claiming our child as a dependent when I calculated quarterly taxes. Obviously at the end of the year, it will make a significant difference if I am not allowed to to claim her at all. Any advice/info would be greatly appreciated!
