Does anyone that has to share tax years with their child’s other parent know how to file when it is not your year to claim your child

[xmasbaby0]

Are you the custodial parent?  Do you have an agreement with the other parent to allow the other parent to claim them--due to divorce or that you live apart and share custody?  Did one of you sign a Form 8332?

If there is a signed 8332 then the custodial parent retains the right to file as Head of Household, get earned income credit and the childcare credit.  The non-custodial parent gets the child tax credit for children under the age of 17.

As far as the IRS is concerned, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child spent the most nights during the tax year--at least 183 nights.

[Hal_Al]

It depends on whether you are the custodial* or non-custodial parent.  If you are the non-custodial parent, you do not enter the child at all. There's nothing to claim.

The custodial parent should still enter the child, in TurboTax, as you can still claim EIC, day care credit and Head of Household even though the non-custodial parent is claiming the dependent, child tax credit and rebate credit**.

*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.

**Whoever claims the child, on the 2020 return, gets the $1100 child stimulus (500+600), even if the other parent already received the same amount.