Has my son more than half nights past year. judge ordered that I and my sons dad has to alternate years for claiming our 15 year old. So father filed. Where do I stand?

[juliachambers200]

How do I put in the tax form that other parent filed and I can’t claim. I pay most of my sons bills, insurance, etc. does that also mean I can’t claim as head if the father filed.

[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.

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.

[juliachambers200]

We haven’t signed a form. Court order 50/50 although I have had my son more nights some years especially last year. I file one year he files next. He’s already filed his due to financial difficulty and loss of income and he goes by what judge ruled and doesn’t seem to worry much about amount of nights or how much he contributes. 

[xmasbaby0]

Well----there are tax laws and there is what people do instead.   If your son's father has already filed a tax return claiming him for 2023, your return claiming him will be rejected if you try to e-file.   Without a qualified dependent, you cannot file as Head of Household.   If you want to enter the child on your return to file as HOH or get any child -related credit, you can do that and file by mail. Then the IRS will investigate later.

[juliachambers200]

Thx that’s what I thought. Thank you. Public does it because nobody is educated on that at all. We literally have I  two years to file. After 17 we can’t I believe. How people even prove nights child spend in the household? It’s a lost cause at this point.