Following up, there are no "reprimands" as long as you follow the rules. However, let's say that the child lives most of the year with you, and the non-custodial parent claims the child as a full dependent including earned income credit or the dependent care credit or head of household--as if the child lived there more than half the year when he really didn't. The penalty in that case can be a monetary penalty for filing an inaccurate return, repayment of excess refund plus interest and a late payment penalty, and automatic ban from claiming earned income credit for 2 years.
If the other parent is non-custodial and claims the dependent exemption under the terms of the form 8332, it is important that the non-custodial parent carefully answer the dependent interview questions in Turbotax so that the correct benefits are claimed and improper benefits are not claimed.
