Can I claim my child as a qualified dependent for the purpose of filing as head of household? Myself and my ex both cared for her equally however, he does have a higher a

[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.  If the child is 17 or older the non-custodial parent gets the $500 credit for other dependents.

If you and the other parent have a signed agreement, you need to indicate in MY INFO that you have such an agreement.

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 with your child, 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.   The “sharing” of child-related credits you may have heard about is only possible between divorced or never married parents who live apart and share custody and who have a written agreement to share the credits.    The child’s SSN can only be entered on one tax return.   Any other return with the child’s SSN on it will be rejected.   If you are a family, then work out how to share the refund between yourselves.

[LindaS5247]

That depends. As a general rule, whoever the child lived with for more than half the year can claim the child as a dependent. As XmasBaby0 mentions above, it's important for you and your ex to decide which of you will claim your child because if both of you claimed your child on your respective tax returns, it will delay the processing time so the IRS can determine which parent can claim the child.

The parent the child lives with the most is considered the custodial parent and the other parent the noncustodial parent. The custodial parent can allow the noncustodial parent to claim the child, but it must be documented.  You can use IRS Form 8332 to release the dependent exemption. This would allow the noncustodial parent to claim the child. However, the noncustodial parent typically cannot use the child to claim the Earned Income Credit (EIC) or Head of Household status, even with Form 8332.

The IRS will use the residency rule to determine who can claim the child if both parents claim the child. This rule says that who has the child the most nights can claim the child. If the number of nights are equal, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income will be allowed to claim the child as a dependent.

So keep in mind, if, for example your ex is determined to be the custodial parent but lets you claim your child as a dependent on your tax return, you can not use that child for purposes of claiming head of household or the earned income credit.

Click here for Rules for Claiming Dependents on Taxes

Click here for Claiming a child as a dependent when parents are divorced, separated or live apart

Please return to Community if you have any additional information or questions and we would be happy to help.