Thanks so much for clarifying my question.
What was throwing me off was the entry in the "you and my family" section of Turbo Tax, under the heading of how many months did the dependent live with you, The turbo tax help question was "how many month did my dependent live with me" and the information that was provided is listed below........
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What if my spouse and I divorced or separated during the tax year?
In this case, the residency test would still be used and the parent that spent the most nights with the child would claim the child. In this case, you'll enter your info in TurboTax a little differently.
If you're the parent claiming the child, select that the child lived with you for 12 months.
If you're not claiming the child, select that the child lived with you for 0 months.
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Since the taxpayer was claiming one child as a dependent and the Ex was claiming the other child the entry in Turbo Tax was Child #1 "12" months and Child #2 was "0" which left the designation in Turbo Tax for child #1 as dependent and child #2 as non dependent.
But if the taxpayer records both children as living with them for 12 months, as outlined above, (or 8 months which they actually did) then in the Turbo Tax step by step process child #2 is checked as the other parent can claim this dependent , the status of the dependents are listed as Child #1 Dependent and Child #2 EIC or Child Care only which follows your clarification guidance.
It was that "What if my spouse and I divorced or separated during the tax year ?" guidance that was throwing the EIC credit calculations into question.
Again thanks so much for your thoughts and help on my question.
