Can my ex and I both claim head of household because our son lives with me and she has another child living with her that is not mine, plus we are both divorced?

[coxpk77]

My son lived with me for all of 2017.  Her 2 year old lived with her for all of 2017.   Shouldn't this qualify us both as head of household?   She is claiming my son per our verbal agreement.

[macuser_22]

If you both lived in separate households and each had a child that lived with you more than half the year then, yes, you can each claim HOH if you meet the other requirements.

[coxpk77]

I paid for all my expenses plus my son's like clothing and feeding him etc... etc...

[coxpk77]

She was considered the custodial parent after our divorce because he was living with her from 2014 till the end of august of 2016.  Since then he has lived with me full time.   So all I would need is proof or record of him living with me, correct?

[coxpk77]

Also,  when you claim head of household, you only need to report one qualifying child correct not two?

[coxpk77]

I hate that I overthink all of this.    I just don't want to make any mistakes! 🙂

[macuser_22]

Yes. only one child is necessary.  Use the links in TurboTaxJulieCo's answer below to see if you qualify.

[coxpk77]

Thank you!

[coxpk77]

I should qualify based off what Julie sent.   My son living with me all year and me paying for his expenses qualifies me.

[coxpk77]

That form 8832 is confusing though.   Is that for the child tax credit not the head of household?

[macuser_22]

There should not be any 8332 form needed at all.  That form is to release the exemption of a child that physically lived with you to a parent that did *not* live with the child.    You do not need anything to claim a child that physically lived with you for more than half the year as you said your child did live with you.

[coxpk77]

The reason I was worried is because yes he has lived with me for the whole year but when we got divorced 3 years ago, we do 50/50 with her as the custodial parent.   But since he lived with me for the whole year of 2017, I am the custodial.   The custodial parent from my understanding is the parent the child spent the most time with. In my case, he lived with me all year.   I really appreciate your help.  I'm confident I'm choosing the right options on turbo tax.   I answered the questions and it says I qualify for HOH.

[macuser_22]

You are correct.

There is no such thing in the Federal tax law as 50/50, split, or joint custody.  The IRS only recognizes physical custody (which parent the child lived with the greater part, but over half, of the tax year.  That parent is the custodial parent; the other parent is the noncustodial parent.)

Who can claim the exemption and credits depends on who is the custodial parent. (By the IRS definition of custodial parent for tax purposes - this is not the same as the legal custody that a court might grant.).

The test that the IRS uses to determine the custodial parent is where the child lived for more than 1/2 (or greater part) of the year. The IRS will go so far as to require counting the nights spend in each household - that person is the custodial parent for tax purposes (if exactly equal and more than 183 days - The custodial parent is the parent with the highest AGI, if less than 183 days then neither parent has custody so the child cannot be claimed by either parent). And yes they are that picky.

[coxpk77]

You are awesome!  Thank you so much.   The last thing I should mention is I'm allowing her to claim the child care credit because I claimed it last year and it's her turn this year.