Who should claim two kids

[Alerik]

My fiancé and I are having our second child in November. Since we’re not married yet, we’re wondering if head of household should claim both children, or if each should claim one for most amount of money back. Thank

[Bsch4477]

There are many factors involved in the calculations. Try it both ways and choose which is better. 

[xmasbaby0]

Yes---try it both ways to see which is better.  What you CANNOT do is file a joint tax return if you are not legally married.   And each child can only be on ONE tax return--so decide which parent claims one or both children.  There is no "sharing" of the child-related credits if you are all living together as a family.   The one who earns the most and pays over half the household expenses is the one who can file as head of household.

If you somehow do not agree on who will claim the children, there are tie-breaker rules:

TIE BREAKER RULES

https://itap1.for.irs.gov/owda/0/resource/Commentary_Files_Redirect_ITA/en-US/help/tbrk09.html