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!