Not sure if i can claim Head of Household for the EITC if the other parent is suppose to be claiming the EIC for our children per our agreement

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

You cannot "agree" who claims the EIC.   The tax law says that *only* the parent that the child lived with more than half the year can claim the EIC when the parents are separated and live apart.

That parent can also claim the Child Care Credit and possible file HOH.

The parent that did not live with the child can only claim the child's exemption and child tax credit.

[keithdudeman]

how is that done through turbotax? because i claimed they lived with me for 7 months for head of household but told turbotax that the other parent is claiming them per our agreement and now the other parent is having issues.

[macuser_22]

Do both parents live with the child?

[keithdudeman]

no seperated

[macuser_22]

Then if the child is listed as a "non-dependent, EIC and child care only" in the dependent section, you entered it correctly.

It is the other parent that did not enter correctly and perhaps is trying to claim the EIC for the child  that they are not allowed to claim.   In whatever tax program they are using they must indicate that the child *did not* live with them.

[keithdudeman]

Mine does say exactly that. I put 7 months so they should only be putting 6 months, correct? Also, would they get less if they only put 6 months versus putting the whole year?

[macuser_22]

The whole year is more than half.  6 months is not more that half.   So yes, that makes the difference.  If 6 or less the EIC cannot be claimed.

Are you saying that you both lived together for more than half the year and then separated so you are both answering more then half the year?

If so then you probably cannot split the benefits at all since you were not separated for more than half the year to do so and only the parent that lived with the child the longer time can claim all the benefits and the child cannot be on the other parents return at all.

[keithdudeman]

We only lived together for the beginning of the year and then we shared custody with only a verbal agreement. So technically the children did live with both of us for more than half the year.

[macuser_22]

Then as long as you were separated for the last 6 months of the year and the children lived with you the most nights, you are the custodial parent and what you entered is correct and per the IRS rules the other parent is the non-custodial parent.

However, TurboTax, if that is what the other parent is using, cannot handle the situation where both parents meet the more than 6 month rule, but only one parent is the custodial, parent.   TurboTax determines the non-custodial parent by 6 months or less, so if both parents enter more than 6 months it leads to the wrong result.

The non-custodial parent must enter 6 months (or none which means the same) to get the correct results.  That is not lying to the IRS but making TurboTax properly apply the rules.

[keithdudeman]

Sounds good.

For future reference, Does claiming only 6 months give the other parent less credit back?

[macuser_22]

Of course it does, but the "extra" credit (the EIC) is not allowed.   Only one parent (the parent that the child lived with the longest) is allowed to claim it. That is why the IRS rejected the claim.