Divorced July 2016 Our final decree states that for tax year 2016 I get childcare tax credit and ex spouse gets the dependent exemption for 2016. Is this possible?

[billmehere]

Unsure who had more nights with our 5 year old, I win tiebreaker due to higher income but want to see first if there's a way to figure it out amicably. Is it possible for one parent to get childcare tax credit and the other to get the dependent exemption in the same year? Wouldn't we each have to be claiming Head of Household, which isn't possible

[IsabellaG · Accepted solution]

One person can claim the dependency exemption and the Child Tax Credit, while the other parent files as Head of Household, and can claim the Earned Income Credit and the Childcare Credit. The tax breaks are divided like that. Only the parent with whom the child lived for more than half the year can claim the Earned Income Credit, Childcare Credit and Head of Household. The noncustodial parent can only claim the exemption and the Child Tax Credit.

None of these tax breaks can be duplicated, so only one parent can claim the exemption and only one person can file as Head of Household. In some cases, one parent can claim all of the tax breaks, while the other can claim none.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/5-Tax-Tips-for-Single-Parents/INF26149.html