Claiming dependents after divorce

[dixiegal2015]

per divorce agreement I am to claim our son for 2016. I answered the questions regarding how much support I provided and it says I cant claim him. Should I continue filing or see a PC for my taxes?

[Texas Roger]

How many months did you indicate the child lived with you during the year? How old was the child and was the child a full time student? Did the child have any income and if so, how much?

[Hal_Al]

The dependent interview, for divorced parents is tricky. I will assume you are the non-custodial parent (the child spends more nights with the other parent than with you).

The number of months you enter for the child lived with you must be 6 or less. The child's birth date must indicate he is under 19. Answer no to the support question (note that the question is not whether YOU provided more than half the support). Answer yes to the custody agreement question. Answer no to the question about the other parent claiming him.

As the non custodial parent you can claim the child's exemption (dependency) and the child tax credit (if he is under 17). But you cannot claim the Earned Income credit, day care credit or Head of Household filing status.