Taxatron
New Member

Never-married parents living *together* with a single child. Can the custodial parent allow the other parent to claim the child as a dependent?

The 1040 filing instructions say this, in part:

<begin excerpt>

     "A child will be treated as the qualifying child or qualifying relative of his or her noncustodial parent (defined later) if all of the following conditions apply:

     1. The parents are divorced, legally separated, separated under a written separation agreement, or lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of 2016 (whether or not they are or were married)."

</end excerpt>

The wording of this requirement (1) is vague, as it seems to allow for a written "separation" agreement to be in place where the parents can still live together. Is this correct? A separation agreement with the parents still living together appears to allow the custodial parent to allow the noncustodial parent to claim the dependent, all while both parents still live together in the same household. Is this correct, or does "separated under a written separation agreement" imply that the parents must have once been married, and are no longer living together?

The specific filing scenario is as follows:

     Parent 1: HoH, not claiming child, child listed as lived with whole year 

     Parent 2: Single, claiming child, child listed as lived with whole year