claiming child on taxes

[bbell]

What is the name of your state? ca

custody is joint physical and joint legal. is it possible for me to claim my child on my taxes. my child spends bigger percentage of time with mother (approximately 65%).

 

[lcollins]

Per the IRS guidelines, the parent that supports the child the most gets to claim the deduction unless your divorce order states otherwise. If you have joint legal and physical, but the child spends more time with the other parent, no you cannot claim the child. Should you do so, and the other parent can prove that the child is with them more than 50% of the year, then you could be in serious legal trouble.

 

[PoohBear8]

If the child's mother signs a release for you to claim the child, then you can legally claim the child as a dependent, no matter how much time is spent with you or the amount of money spent on supporting the child. However, since your child spends more time with his/her mother, you cannot claim the earned income credit...no matter what.