Can a Child Be a Double Dependent?

If you and the other parent of your child are divorced or do not live together, then you may have wondered who can claim the child as a dependent. Perhaps you’ve even considered whether the child could be a dependent on each of your tax returns. The answer to that question is no. A child or any person can only be listed as a dependent by one individual.  

So, what happens if you discover that both you and the other parent listed the child as a dependent? Well, you’ll have to pay attention to the “tiebreaker rule” that the IRS has created for determining who actually gets to claim the child in question.

Where Did the Child Spend the Most Time?

For IRS purposes, the most important factor in deciding who gets the dependent claim is who the child lived with the most. Almost always, this will be the parent who has legal custody.

If one parent has custody or can otherwise prove that the child lived with them more than with the other parent throughout the given tax year, then they should have no problem “winning” the right to list the child as their dependent and theirs alone.

The 50/50 Split

Every once in a while, there are instances in which a child spends the exact same amount of time living with one parent as he or she does with the other. This can be seen, for example, in arrangements where each parent keeps the child for six months out of the year.

In these situations, the parent who has the highest adjusted gross income will get to claim the child as a dependent. Knowing this rule can also be useful for couples who are married and/or who live together but who choose to file separately.

If you have questions about claiming a child as a dependent, its benefits, or how to prove that you really are the qualifying parent, don’t hesitate to reach out to a tax professional. After all, these types of situations can sometimes be quite tricky!