The following guidelines are necessary for someone to claim a dependent... so only one of you can claim the child and if you both try to claim the same child then the tie breaker rules come into play ONLY if you live together with the other parent ... if you live separately then the child can only qualify to be one person's dependent ... also the HOH rules will also come into play :
Qualifying Child Dependent:
- The child must be related to you. The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
- Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
- Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply (ie. away at school).
- The child cannot provide more than half of his/her support.
- You must be the only person claiming the child
- The child must be a US citizen, resident alien, national, or resident of Mexico or Canada.
- The child cannot file a joint return with his or her spouse.
Qualifying Relative Dependent:
- You provided more than half of their support.
- They made less than $4,000 in gross income.
- They live with you or they are related to you.
- They aren’t a dependent on someone else’s taxes.
- They aren’t doing their taxes with a spouse (married filing jointly).
- They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
HOH rules :
Even if you were legally married as of December 31, you are considered unmarried (and therefore eligible for Head of Household) if all 5 of these conditions apply:
- You won't be filing jointly with your spouse; and
- Your spouse didn't live in your home after June (temporary absences due to illness, school, vacation, business, or military service don't count); and
- Your home was your child's, stepchild's, or foster child's main home for more than half the year (non-child dependents in your home don't qualify); and
- You paid more than half the costs of keeping up your home during the tax year; and
- You meet the qualifications to claim the child as your dependent, even if the other (noncustodial) parent is actually claiming the child as a dependent on their return.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/family/help/what-is-a-qualifying-person-for-head-of-household/00/2...
