Question

Can my son's mother claim him even though his info and social is still on file with me, but I chose not to claim him this year?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 4, 2019
1 reply
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My son's mother wanted to claim him this year. I chose the option to not claim him but his info and social are still on file. When she went to file, she was rejected for claiming our son as a dependent. How can we fix this?

TurboTax Deluxe Android

O

Opus 17

Employee

The only person who has the automatic right to claim a child as a dependent is the parent where the child lives more than half the nights of the year (183 or more nights). The IRS is federal law and is not bound by state court orders. There is no such thing as "equal custody", you have to actually count the number of nights if you aren't sure.

The custodial parent may give the non-custodial parent a signed release form 8332 that allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child as a dependent. This allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child tax credit only. Qualification for EIC, head of household status, and the dependent care credit, always stay with the custodial parent and can't be waived, transferred or shared.

It sounds like you may be the custodial parent and want to allow the non-custodial parent to claim the child tax credit? In that case, you must give the other parent a signed form 8332 releasing the dependent.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf

In Turbotax, the custodial parent will answer the dependent interview they had custody more than half the year, there is a custody agreement, they will give the other parent form 8332. The program will properly claim EIC, head of household and the dependent care credit (if otherwise qualified) and will not claim the child tax credit.

The non-custodial parent answers that they had custody less than half the year, there is a custody agreement, they do have a signed form 8332. This will properly claim the child tax credit only. The non-custodial parent will have to mail the form 8332 to the IRS after e-filing the rest of the return.

If one of the parents gets an e-file block, then someone made a mistake. Probably the other parent claimed the child lived with them the whole year, or you did not indicate that you were giving the other parent a form 8332. Check your return to make sure you indicated the form 8332, then mail your return if still blocked. Give the other parent a copy of the form and a copy of this answer, they may have to file an amended return to change how they claimed the child.

(If you are not the custodial parent, then reverse it. You can't claim the child at all unless the other parent gives you the form. Delete the child from your return and file again.)

None of this applies if the parents live together unmarried and share custody. In that case, only one parent can claim the child and the benefits can't be split. The other parent should delete the child they are not claiming from their tax return.