We used worksheet 2 in publication 501 page 15 to calculate support for a child. The child lived with mom 80% and dad 20%. We used the child’s share of household expenses in moms home. Is that correct or do we use the household expenses for both mom’s AND dad’s home?
Support is not an issue if the child is under the age of 19 ( or 24 if a full time student) ... the "child" just cannot be self supporting which I cannot see any child those ages to be.
So why (for what exact purpose) are you filling in that worksheet ? If you read the worksheet it is only looking for the primary custodian's info.
What exactly are you trying to do? Are you trying to figure out which parent can claim the child? The IRS goes by who the child lived with the most---at least 183 nights. So the custodial parent is the one who can claim the child. If there is a signed form 8332, then there is a way to sort of "share" who claims the child:
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.
OR.....are you trying to figure out if the child was supported by a parent as opposed to being able to say they cannot be claimed as someone else's dependent?
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.
The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.