divorce states parents alternate years claiming 1 child as their dependent/tax credit.
if the parent not claiming the child that year use the child as a "qualifying child" so they can claim head of household?
will that mess up the other parents tax return or will the other parent still be able to claim dependent/tax credit and get their full return?
Thanks
What the divorce decree states is that one parent has right to dependency exemption for that child that year. It has no impact on right of custodial parent to file HOH and receive EIC under special rules for children of divorced or separated parents. The custodial parent must check the box for children NOT being claimed as dependent under special rules for .........
If both parents claim child as dependent, there is a problem!!! The noncustodial parent cannot do this, but can claim only the dependency exemption.
The alternating "claim" established by the divorce decree only applies to the personal exemption for the child and the child tax credit or additional child tax credit.
The right to claim Head of Household status, credits such as childcare expenses credit, and the Earned income credit always apply to the parent that the child lives with, even if that parent does not claim the dependency exemption because the other parent is allowed to claim it.
Generally, the IRS does not recognize divorce agreements. They want the custodial parent to sign a form 8332 to give the dependency exemption to the non-custodial parent. Be sure to mark that the form is valid for only 1 year, and sign a new one each year when its the other parent's turn.
If the custodial parent doesn't sign form 8332, the non-custodial parent won't get any help from the IRS, because the IRS doesn't care what the divorce decree says. However, the divorce court might consider it a breach of contract and punish the custodial parent for not signing the form.
Look at the 1040A and 1040. There is a place to list the child's name next to the HOH status when you don't use it on line 6c.
That's how the IRS knows what the custodial parent is doing. The non-custodial parent attaches the form 8332 (or a pre 2009 divorce decree) to their tax return to show why they are ONLY claiming the exemption and child tax credit. (Note, if the non-custodial parent doesn't attach paperwork, he/she gets NOTHING.)
The custodial parent -- that's the one that the child spends the most nights with throughout the year -- retains Head of Household filing status, the EIC, and the Child & Dependent Care Credit. The non-custodial parent gets the exemption, Child Tax Credit, and Additional Child Tax Credit ONLY.