Help my ex wrongfully claimed my dependants

[CalebD]

Hello. 

• I have 3 children with a women that lived with me for a number of years . I am on the birth certificates and all. We spent the same number of days with the kids obviously and I made more money than her and I paid the majority of all the bills. Who had the right to claim the kids? We where both the custodial parents at the time where we not?

[Bsch4477]

There can only be one custodial parent and that is the one with whom the children spent the most nights if you are living apart. If you live together the custodial parent is the one with the greater AGI. 

[rjs]

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@CalebD wrote:
We spent the same number of days with the kids

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You didn't say when you stopped living together. If you and the mother did not live together for the entire year, the kids could not have spent exactly the same number of nights with each of you, because 2023 had an odd number of days. The kids had to have spent at least one night more with either you or the mother. Yes, the IRS is that picky.