How can i get earned income credit if ex is claiming son

[anona-anonyuo]

We have a divorce agreement that he gets to claim our child on odd tax years. My salary was under 47k and my son lived with me all year. Can I still get the EIC somehow?

[bwa · Accepted solution]

You can claim EIC, Head of Household and the child and dependent care credit if you are the custodial parent even if you don't claim the child. The child must live with you for more than 1/2 of the year to be the custodial parent. In working through the dependent interview you need to carefully answer several questions:

• When asked if your child's other parent will claim him/her this year per legal agreement, answer yes (the other parent will claim the child).
• When asked if the child lives with you more than 1/2 of the year, answer yes.
• When asked if you have a custody agreement, divorce decree or other written agreement, answer yes (presumably, TurboTax treats Form 8332 as an "other written agreement."

In doing so, TurboTax will include him on your return for EIC, Head of Household if applicable and dependent care credit only.