topic I went through a divorce and It was finalized before the end of the year. My daughter and ex lived with me until June and I have had my daughter for weekends since. My ex will be claiming my daughter in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I went through a divorce and It was finalized before the end of the year. My daughter and ex lived with me until June and I have had my daughter for weekends since. My ex will be claiming my daughter

gn_bmx — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 19:06:45 GMT

Re: I went through a divorce and It was finalized before the end of the year. My daughter and ex ...

DawnC — Thu, 30 Jan 2020 19:57:06 GMT

Sounds like you will be filing Single unless you have other dependents you are claiming. If your ex is going to be claiming your daughter, do not list your daughter on your tax return.

Re: I went through a divorce and It was finalized before the end of the year. My daughter and ex ...

gn_bmx — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 20:10:18 GMT

The software is still saying to file head of household and has my daughter as a non dependent?

Re: I went through a divorce and It was finalized before the end of the year. My daughter and ex ...

DeanM15 — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 20:32:10 GMT

If you are not the custodial parent and do not have a Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent, signed by the custodial parent, then I would delete your daughter from the return and file Single filing status.

The first question to ask is: Who Is The Custodial Parent? As far as the IRS is concerned, the custodial parent has the right to claim the child and can only give up that right (in part) to the non-custodial parent by filling out Form 8332.

The custodial parent for tax purposes is the parent who the child lives with for the majority of nights per year. If both parents spent an exactly equal amount of time with the child, then it defaults to parent with the highest adjusted gross income.

You can find out more about both parents claiming a child here, the Form 8332 here, about custodial parents here, and Tax Information for Non-Custodial Parents here.