Noncustodial parent claiming child

[misskkimble]

My child lived with other parent but visited me regularly and I paid for medical food and transportation

[SherryM · Accepted solution]

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.

[mjvaughn]

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".

[TomK]

"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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply (i.e., away at school).
4. The child cannot provide more than half of his/her support.
5. You must be the only person claiming the child
6. The child must be a US citizen, resident alien, national, or resident of Mexico or Canada.
7. 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:

1. You provided more than half of his/her support in 2016
2. He/She earned less than $4,050 in gross taxable income. (Social Security income generally doesn’t count here.)
3. He/She lives with you 365 days in the year or is related to you.
4. He/She isn’t a dependent on someone else’s tax return.
5. He/She isn’t filing a tax return with a spouse (married filing jointly).
6. 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

[Komodo276]

Yawn.

[Claude4]

You stated that "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."  This contradicts the instructions on Form 8332, which states "It is used so the noncustodial parent can claim the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit and the credit for other dependents (if applicable)."  Also, the EIC can still be claimed by the noncustodial spouse.  The amount of EIC will depend on income and family size, but the EIC is still available for someone that has no dependents.  It is called the "childness EIC."  

[ThomasM125]

It is true that a tax filer(s) may qualify for an earned income credit (EIC) for him or herself, but cannot do so on the basis of claiming a dependent who did not live with him or her.

Normally, the EIC applies to a head of household or married-joint tax filers who need to have a child living with them in order to qualify. However, it may also apply to such filers if their income in under $15,570 (single) or $21,370 (married-joint) for 2019 and they don't support a child.

[Claude4]

Just to be clear, a taxpayer qualifies for the EIC, or they don't.  The number of children they claim as dependents for filing status purposes will affect the amount of the EIC.  For a rundown of these requirements, please see https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/do-i-qualify-for-earned-....  Also, it is vague to say that children are "qualifying" or "non-qualifying" for all filing status and tax credit purposes.  To claim a child for filing status purposes, the child must not be over 18 at the end of the tax year.  However, for the Child Tax Credit, they cannot be over 17 at the end of the tax year.  If they are 17 or older, then the Credit for Other Dependents applies to them, if . the requirements for that credit are met. 

Also, taxpayers may take advantage of the Child and Dependent Care Credit.  That applies to children under 13 or a spouse or other dependent (qualifying child for filing status purposes or qualifying relative) regardless of age, who is incapable of caring for him- or herself.  The rules for qualifying relative for the Child and Dependent Care Credit take a but more explanation, buy it does apply to disabled children who are too old to qualify as a dependent for filing status purposes.    The key point here is that qualifications for filing status and the various credits vary, so it is confusing to simply say a child is a "qualifying child."  Qualifying for what, exactly?  Keeping all of these rules straight in your head can be mind bending, but fortunately, the TurboTax  questionnaires will figure all of this out for you.