Can I Claim My Child If I Don't Have Custody If They Lived With Me for More Than Half the Year?
Claiming your child as a dependent on your tax return can significantly decrease your tax burden because you get to claim a variety of deductions and credits related to that child. The Internal Revenue Service has very specific rules about whether a particular taxpayer can claim a child as a dependent.
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Divorce Agreement
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A divorce or separation agreement that went into effect in 2008 or earlier can dictate which parent gets to claim the child on taxes each year. The parent who is claiming the child must attach a copy of the relevant portions of the agreement to his tax return to prove that he has the right to claim the child. The agreement must list the years that the parent gets to claim the child, state that the other parent will not claim the child these years and state that the agreement is not contingent on child support payments or other conditions. If the divorce or separation agreement was made in 2009 or later, the custodial parent must give the noncustodial parent a signed copy of Form 8332 to allow the noncustodial parent to claim the child that year. Otherwise, the IRS guidelines for custody apply.
Custodial Parent Definition
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For the purposes of filing taxes, the IRS defines the custodial parent as the parent with whom the child lived most during the tax year. Therefore, even if your child's other parent ordinarily has more custody, the IRS considers you to be the custodial parent if your child lived with you for more than half of the year. As the custodial parent, you can claim the child as a dependent on your tax return.
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Counting Custody
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To find out whether you or your child's other parent can claim custody, count the number of nights the child lived with each of you during the year. If the child was away at a sleepover or another similar event but would otherwise have stayed with you, then she counts as being with you that night. If you, the child and the child's other parent all lived together for part of the year, you must count which of you had more total days living with the child. Both of you might have more than half of the year, so the parent who the child lived with most gets to claim custody for taxes.
Other Requirements
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Your child must be age 19 or younger at the end of the tax year, or age 24 or younger if he is a full-time student. In addition, the child must not provide more than half of his own support. It does not matter whether you, your child's other parent or another person provided more of the support. You can claim your child as long as he wasn't the one providing at least half of his support from his own income or savings. Lastly, your child cannot file a joint return, unless it is only to get a refund and he has no tax liability.
Claiming Deductions and Credits
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As the custodial parent, you can claim an exemption for your dependent child unless you voluntarily let someone else, such as the child's other parent, claim that exemption. Only the person who claims the exemption for the child is allowed to claim other tax benefits related to that child. These include head of household filing status, the child tax credit, the child and dependent care expense credit, the exclusion from income for dependent care benefits and the earned income credit.
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