SO Claimed son since he made more. Can I also claim him for EITC without penalties?

[firebug_96]

I filed my fiancé's taxes for him. Since he made more he claimed our son and filed under Head of Household. We've never been married, so we verbally agreed that he could claim him. Am I still allowed to register him as a dependent, since I provided for his needs as well? Am I allowed to claim EITC for our son? We lived together all year.

[SweetieJean]

Do you all live together?

[firebug_96]

Yes, we've lived together all of 2017.

[macuser_22 · Accepted solution]

If you both live with the child, you can agree who claims the child and all the benefits. The child can only be on one return and not on the other at all. The benefits cannot be split.

The dependent interview is confusing since it asks about custody without really explaining what that means. That can lead you to answer the questions in a manner that gives credits to both parents when they both live with the child which is not allowed. The child can only be on one parents tax return and not on the other at all.

*Only* divorced or separated parents that have lived apart for the last 6 months of the year can have a *custody* agreement. The parent that physically lived with the child is the custodial parent and the parent that did not live with the child the non-custodial parent. Under those circumstances the custodial parent can release the child's exempt to the non-custodial parent who did not live with the child with a 8332 form (which is a custody agreement).

When *both* parents live with the child, no such custody agreement can exist since both parents have equal custody and there is no non-custodial parent. The dependent and all the benefits can only be claimed by one parent.

[SweetieJean]

Sorry, but only one person can claim the child, and all the tax attributes that go with it, since you all live together.

[LisaBr]

The rules for HOH are as follows:

For tax year 2017, you can qualify for Head of Household if you:

1.Were unmarried as of December 31, 2017.
2.Paid more than half the cost to run your (or a qualifying parent's) home in 2017 (rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.) and
3.Supported a qualifying person.

I've included a link to an IRS Interactive website that may be helpful in understanding how to file and what credits are available.  Also, TurboTax walks you through the interview process and informs you of your filing options.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/what-is-my-filing-status

[Edited 01.28.17 04:00 pm]

[SweetieJean]

"not living with your dependent's parent " Where did that come from?  That only applies if you are married to the other parent.  OP is not.
Why can't he claim HOH?  He seems to meet the requirement..
"Since he made more he claimed our son and filed under Head of Household"