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Level 1
posted Mar 12, 2025 10:44:19 PM

Filing Taxes with a Dependent

I have a one and a half year old. His dad and I are together,  but not married so we file our taxes separately. I have insurance through my work, my son's dad has Covered CA, and my son was going to get covered CA through/with his dad, but he doesn't make enough and so my son had to get on Medi-Cal. 

My question is, if my son has insurance through his dad (Medi-Cal), can I still claim him- or because his insurance was based on his dad's income, would he have to claim our son? 

Also, it asks about how much custody I have- if we are together, would I just put 100%?

0 2 2018
2 Replies
Expert Alumni
Mar 13, 2025 5:36:34 AM

Yes, you can still claim your son as a dependent even though he receives insurance through his dad.

 

If you and your son's father both live in the same home with the child all year, you can put 100% for your custody. 

Level 15
Mar 13, 2025 7:07:08 AM

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.