Do you and the father live together, but are not married? In that case, delete the child completely from your tax return, don’t enter their name, and don’t answer any questions about them.
Are you and the father divorced or separated or never married, and living apart and sharing custody? In that case, you should very carefully answer the interview questions. If the child lives in your home more than half the year, there are certain tax benefits that only you qualify for, and that the other parent can’t qualify for even if you give them permission to claim your child. If you live apart and share custody, only the parent who has custody more than half the nights of the year can use the child to qualify for head of household, earned income credit, or the dependent care credit. The non-custodial parent cannot claim anything unless the parent with majority custody gives the non-custodial parent a signed form 8332 dependent release, allowing the other parent to claim the child for the child tax credit. But even in this case, the ability to file as head of household, or claim the earned income credit or the dependent care credit always stays with the parent who had majority custody, and can’t be shared or transferred even with permission.
