Listing Dependents on 1040

[tonyku321]

My ex-wife is the custodial parent of our 2 children and I am the non-custodial parent. She signed form 8832 which released her claim of exemption for the two kids, so I could put them on my return and claim the regular child tax credit of $2000 PLUS the additional child tax credit.  We did this because she made too much money to claim the additional child tax credit whereas I did not.   She is claiming head of household because they live with her and she provides all of their support. She forgot to file the form 2441 on her original return and did not list them as dependents either on her original return. She is filing an amended return so that she can file the form 2441. My question is, does she list them as dependents on her amended return (because I did as well for the child tax credit)? Or is there some other box for her to check to say that she still gets head of household because she still meets the head of household criteria and pays for their support. In other words, how does she list a "dependent care only" child on the amended return?

[tagteam]

@Critter-3 

[Opus 17]

In Turbotax, she needs to list the children in the dependent interview.  When she runs the interview questions, she will be asked where do the children live most of the time (with her).  Then she will be asked if she signed a form 8332 release for the other parent (she will say yes).  Her tax software will list the children on the return in such a way that she qualifies for HOH and the dependent care credit but does not claim the $2000 child tax credit.  This should not cause any conflicts with your return, as long as you indicated on your return that the children did not live with you more that half the year and you did have a form 8332 to claim them. 

If she is filing on paper, she must list the children in the dependent section on the front of form 1040 and not check the box for the child tax credit or the box for other dependent credit.