Married filing separately stimulus check for minor

[KDrun]

My husband and I file separately and alternate years claiming our child.  Last year was his year to claim our child.  I received my stimulus checks, but he did not receive either his nor the money for our child that had been claimed on his return.  This year I was planning to claim our child, but we would like to get the missed stimulus $ for the child.  Can my husband claim he didn't receive the stimulus money for the child he claimed last year without claiming the child this year?

Whose taxes do we claim that we didn't receive the child's stimulus on? 

Would it just be smarter to let him claim the child again this year?

[DianeW777]

The first and second stimulus payments are reconciled on the 2020 tax return.  This means that you would be entitled to the stimulus for your child if you claim your child as a dependent on the 2020 tax return. It's up to you and your spouse to decide who will claim your child on the 2020 tax return.

It's not clear why your spouse did not receive a stimulus for your child based on the 2019 return, but there will be no recovery for anticipated stimulus because the 2020 return will be used by the IRS at this point.

You can choose to file jointly or separately and I would advise to check both ways and include the stimulus to see which comes out best. Likewise you can file separately claiming your child by testing each return to see which provides the best result.

[NCperson]

this is really simple - but the way the IRS did it makes it appear complicated.

Everything is based on your 2020 tax return.  Who claimed who in 2018 or 2019 just doesn't matter and who didn't receive any of the 1st two stimulus payments doesn't matter either (because they were based on 2018/2019 tax returns doesn't matter)

What matters is what you are eligible for based on your 2020 income, filing status and dependents under the age of 17  LESS what you have already received.  The net result is what you are due (but not less than zero)

All you EACH have to do is list the payments you ACTUALLY received for the 1st two stimulus payments.

Line 30 will reconcile what additional amounts you may be due, if any.

is there any reason you are not filing joint? 96% of married couples file joint because the tax rules motivate that behavior. It is very, very unlikely your taxes are lower by each filing separate.  (if you are legally separated and one is filing single and the other filing HOH, that is a different story) 

make sense?