Since the credit is also based on your 2020 AGI, using the higher earned income number for the lookback provision isn't going to provide you (or your ex) a larger credit than you are entitled to. Since you are both filing your own returns, the EIC is only going to use your individual 2020 AGI amounts as a base amount. You can't both be claiming the same dependents, so the amount you qualify for will be less and that is factored in by having fewer dependents and a lower AGI in 2020. Even if you use the higher joint earned income numbers, the credit will still be based on your 2020 AGI, which is only yours.
You can only use the lookback provision if your 2019 earned income was more than your 2020 earned income. Have you went through the EIC section in TurboTax yet to see what the differences in the credit amounts are?
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