If my child only lived with me a portion of the year will that effect the amount I get for that child?

[brayton820]

I pay child support but share legal custody and my child is with me every other weekend

[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 18.

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.

If you are a non-married couple who live together then only one of you can claim the child(ren) and the one not claiming the child does not enter anything at all on their tax return about the child. 

[brayton820]

We alternate years on who claims our child for taxes and it's my year, so I don't know what to put down for all the information 

[JohnB5677]

As xmasbaby0 questioned "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? "  A custody agreement allows the parents to come up with a plan of how to participate in bringing up the child when they are separated.   It sounds like you have that.  

If this is your year for custody, you can fila as Head of Household.