Correct. Generally, the custodial parent is the parent who has physical custody of the child for the greater portion of the calendar year. The non-custodial parent will have less than 6 months and the custodial parent will have greater than 6 months. Here is a one page summary - Tax Information for Non Custodial Parents.
Generally, only one person may claim the child as a qualifying child for purposes of the head of household filing status, the child tax credit/credit for other dependents, the dependent care credit/exclusion for dependent care benefits, the dependency exemption and the EITC.
There is a special rule for divorced or separated parents or parents living apart for the last 6 months of the calendar year. A parent who has custody of the child (custodial parent) may provide the parent without custody (noncustodial parent) with a written declaration (Form 8332) granting the noncustodial parent ability to claim dependency exemption and the child tax credit/credit for other dependents.
If the requirements of the special rule are satisfied, then the child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent for purposes of the child tax credit or credit for other dependents and the dependency exemption. However, only the custodial parent can claim the head of household filing status, the dependent care credit/exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the EITC for the child, under the general rules.
For more information, see Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) in Pub. 501 and Special rule for divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) in Pub. 596. @highreturn
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