How do I calculate "how many months dependent lived with me" when they live with me every other day all year?

[Anonymous]

My son lives 50/50 with his mother and me.  We trade off MT-WT-FSS (2 nights at one house, 2 at the other, then 3 at the first house).  At the end of a year, we each have had him 50/50.  Do we say he's lived with one of us 7 months, the other 5, majority falling to whoever is claiming him that year?  Do we say he lived with each of us for 12 months?

[ChelsiE2 · Accepted solution]

You are correct.  Whomever will be claiming him in 2015 should enter 7 months.  The other parent should enter 5 months.

Also, TurboTax will verify further.  When entering your Son's information, you'll come to a screen that looks like the first attachment below.  Here you should answer "Yes" to we have an agreement.  The next screen (pictured in the second attachment below) is where you can say if you or our child's mother will be claiming him.

[bradylhewitt]

How do you change this section after you have filed?  

[JGJ]

On the app it says calculate the months my dependent live with me, then says if your baby was born in 2020 select the whole year, but should i still do that if my dependent was born in November 

[Cynthiad66]

If your child live with you every other day then this is going to have to be decided by who provided the most support.  Only one person can claim the dependent.  Normally, it is the parent with custody that is allowed to claim.  If you do not want to have your refunds frozen until IRS figure this out, why not come to a mutual agreement about who claims the child and when.

Yes, if your child was born alive during the year and the tests for claiming your child as a dependent are met, you may claim her as a dependent. You may also be entitled to claim: The child tax credit (CTC) and/or additional child tax credit (ACTC) Head of household filing status.

Below are tests for qualifying dependent.

The bottom line is a dependent must be your “qualifying child” or “qualifying relative” and meet specific tests in order for you to claim them. The 5 tests that will qualify a child as a dependent are:

• Relationship: Must be your child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (grand or nephew).
• Residence: Must have the same residence for more than half the year.
• Age: Must be under age 19 or under 24 and a full-time student for at least 5 months. They can be any age if they are totally and permanently disabled.
• Support: Must not have provided more than half of their own support during the year.
• Joint Support: The child cannot file a joint return for the year.

The 4 tests that will qualify a relative as a dependent are:

• Qualifying Child: They are not the “qualifying child” of another taxpayer or your “qualifying child.”
• Gross Income: The dependent being claimed earns less than $4,300 in 2020 ($4,200 in 2019).
• Total Support: You provide more than half of the total support for the year.
• Member of Household or Relationship: The person (a friend, girlfriend, non-blood relative) must live with you all year as a member of your household or be related to you.

Many taxpayers are surprised to find they may be able to claim a boyfriend, girlfriend, domestic partner, or friend as a qualifying relative if:

• They are a member of your household the entire year.
• The relationship between you and the dependent does not violate the law, for example, you can not still be married to someone else. (Also, check your individual state law, as some states do not allow you to claim a boyfriend or girlfriend as a dependent even if your relationship doesn’t violate the law).
• You meet all the other criteria for “qualifying relatives” (gross income and support)

In this case, my opinion is the birth parent will most likely qualify as having provided more than 50% of support for 2020.