Can I claim my daughter as my dependent if my ex has her on their insurance?

[s3pkhmerkid]

I pay for most of the daycare cost as well. Who can files head of household? If we are separate but my daughter is on their insurance.?

[Texas Roger · Accepted solution]

There are special rules for divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart. The custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person who the child lived with for more than half the year, can claim head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit. 

The non-custodial parent, if allowed by divorce decree or consent of the custodial parent on form 8332 or similar signed statement, can claim the dependency exemption and child tax credit. For post-2008 divorce decrees or agreements, form 8332 or similar signed statement is required. The child tax benefits cannot be split any other way.

It doesn't matter who has the child on their insurance. 

[s3pkhmerkid]

The father of my daughter and i were never married. We parted ways shortly after my daughter was born. I own a house and my daughter lives with me. My ex pays most of the day care expenses through his flex spending account. We are trying to figure out who can claim her as a dependent. He feels that he needs to claim her because hes paid for the day care expense via his check. he thinks it may look odd that he has child care expenses deducted from his paycheck but does not claim a child come tax time. He lives with his parents so i dont think he would qualify for head of house hold status. If i were to file head of house hold status. will this cause any issues with his payroll deductions he uses to pay for the day care expense?

[Texas Roger]

He cannot file as head of household because the child does not live with him. You can file as head of household because you are the custodial parent who the child lives with. If you file as head of household it does not affect the other parent's ability to pay day care expenses.

You are the one who decides who claims the dependency exemption. You can claim it yourself or relinquish it to him. Regardless of whether he claims the dependency exemption or not, he cannot claim the child and dependent care credit on his tax return.  It would be common in a divorce for the divorce decree to award the dependency exemption to each parent in alternate years. So it would not be unusual for a parent to pay child care expenses and have them deducted from the pay check in years when they don't claim the child on their tax return.