Who's able to claim my daughter

[lovemyakids]

My husband and I are currently going through a divorce. We have 5 children total but only two are under 18yrs old. I want to know which one of us should claim them for our 2022 taxes. Here's the situation... Our 17yr old lives with me full time. That isn't the issue. The issue is with our youngest, 14yr old daughter. Our 14yr old lived with me from January 2022 until August 2022 majority of the time. BTW -We do not have a court order in place yet. My Ex says he is going to claim our 14yr old on his 2022 taxes. He only wants to because he makes well over one hundred thousand dollars and by claiming her on his taxes will help him. I've told him since she has lived with me majority of 2022 I will be claiming her on my taxes. Who is in the right? And what needs to be done so we're both not claiming her. I of course don't want to get into trouble, but I feel like I should be the one claiming her and not him. 

[TaxandtheCurious]

Divorce is always difficult and further complicated if parents are not aligned on who be claiming the children. I am sorry to hear of this conflict regarding your 14 year old. Generally, the custodial parent claims the qualifying child as a dependent on their return. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent.  If the parents share custody, it's common for the custody or divorce order to specify which parent can claim the child, however, I understand that you do not have that yet.

If the noncustodial parent claims the Child Tax Credit, the custodial parent must complete the IRS form, releasing rights to the credit. Without IRS 8332 https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8332  the IRS may reject a request to use the tax benefit. Form 8332 is a tax document that allows a custodial parent to pass the tax exemption for a dependent child to the noncustodial parent. In order for the IRS to honor this request, the form must be completed by the custodial parent and attached to the noncustodial parent’s tax forms.

It is important to note that use of this form is not the only way to receive this exemption. There are some instances where a divorce decree or separation agreement can suffice, but it must be used properly. The document must specifically state that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent on his or her tax documents, the custodial parent will refrain from claiming the child as a dependent and it must clearly specify which years the noncustodial parent can claim the exemption. The noncustodial parent should also be aware that the agreement can be canceled. The custodial parent can revoke the release of his or her right to take the dependent child tax exemption.

If someone incorrectly claims your dependent there are steps you can take. Many tax filers discover this has occurred when they receive an IRS reject error that one or more dependents have been claimed. If this happens, you can still paper file your tax returns. The IRS will then send both parties letters requesting documentation and proof. After reviewing the documentation, the IRS will determine who is eligible to claim child as dependent.