@bryan0819
Yes, same rules apply. I should have used the words "court order" rather than "divorce degree".
A previously noted, in this thread, for tax purposes, there is no such thing as joint custody, regardless of what your legal agreement says. The requirement, to be custodial parent, is that the child live with you MORE than 50% of the time. One of you has to be the custodial parent and the other the non-custodial parent. The IRS goes by physical custody, not legal custody. Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent (or a court order) has released the dependency, and child or other dependent tax credit, to him.
