Noncustodial parent claiming child

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 6, 2019
2 replies
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My child lived with other parent but visited me regularly and I paid for medical food and transportation

TurboTax Deluxe Online

Best answer by

In the TurboTax interview, you answer zero when asked how many months he lived with you. The amount of time he spent with you only matters when it was more than half the year.

You can claim him as a dependent and for the child tax credit. But because he did not live with you, he is NOT your qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit, Day Care credit or Head of Household Filing status.

There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status, and day care credit. This "splitting of the child" is not available to parents who lived together at any time during the last 6 months of the year; then only one of you can claim the child for any tax reasons. The tax benefits may not be split in any other manner.

Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the exemption to him.

You should let the other parent know that she can still claim him for the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status and the day care credit, if she otherwise qualifies.

Ref: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2014_publink1000170897

The custodial parent has first priority on claiming the children on her taxes; regardless of the amount of support provided by the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent can only claim the child as a dependent if the custodial parent gives permission (on form 8332) or if it's spelled out in a pre 2009 divorce decree. Even if a divorce decree, dated after 2008, gives the non-custodial parent the right to claim the child, he must still get form 8332 from the custodial parent. A properly worded decree should require her to provide that form.

A

Anonymous

Answer

In the TurboTax interview, you answer zero when asked how many months he lived with you. The amount of time he spent with you only matters when it was more than half the year.

You can claim him as a dependent and for the child tax credit. But because he did not live with you, he is NOT your qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit, Day Care credit or Head of Household Filing status.

There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status, and day care credit. This "splitting of the child" is not available to parents who lived together at any time during the last 6 months of the year; then only one of you can claim the child for any tax reasons. The tax benefits may not be split in any other manner.

Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the exemption to him.

You should let the other parent know that she can still claim him for the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status and the day care credit, if she otherwise qualifies.

Ref: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2014_publink1000170897

The custodial parent has first priority on claiming the children on her taxes; regardless of the amount of support provided by the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent can only claim the child as a dependent if the custodial parent gives permission (on form 8332) or if it's spelled out in a pre 2009 divorce decree. Even if a divorce decree, dated after 2008, gives the non-custodial parent the right to claim the child, he must still get form 8332 from the custodial parent. A properly worded decree should require her to provide that form.

M

mjvaughn

Level 2

I just want to say how little I think of the fact that it is PRESUMED that the custodial parent is "SHE/HER" and the non-custodial parent is "HE/HIM". Especially when it appears that the person asking for clarification on this topic is "FEMALE".

K

Komodo276

Level 2

Yawn.

T

TomK2023

Level 15

"The easiest way to figure out who may claim a dependent is to enter information in TurboTax, and the program will determine if you can claim the children". Temporary absences do not count (e.g., if the dependent is away at school).

Your Two possibilities to claim a dependent are as follows:

You may be able to claim your [son/daughter] as a Qualifying Child dependent if:

The child must be related to you. The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply (i.e., away at school).
The child cannot provide more than half of his/her support.
You must be the only person claiming the child
The child must be a US citizen, resident alien, national, or resident of Mexico or Canada.
The child cannot file a joint return with his or her spouse.

You may be able to claim your [son/daughter] as a Qualifying Relative dependent if:

You provided more than half of his/her support in 2016
He/She earned less than $4,050 in gross taxable income. (Social Security income generally doesn’t count here.)
He/She lives with you 365 days in the year or is related to you.
He/She isn’t a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
He/She isn’t filing a tax return with a spouse (married filing jointly).
He/She is a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident

You can’t claim a dependent if you are a dependent on someone else’s taxes

See Rules For Claiming Dependents

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