Married filing separately - who claims the children? Do we both?

[raeseparatetaxes]

Previous similar responses do not answer the question. I did not ask which filing status was more beneficial.

[SeanE1 · Accepted solution]

Usually in a situation such as this, the spouse with the higher income would benefit from claiming the children.  With that aside, you both can claim one child (if you have two)  or split them anyway you want.  The important thing is that you do not both claim the same child.  A child cannot be claimed more than one time in any tax year.