ex spouse and i can't agree on who uses dependents

[daisyrodriguez]

my ex husband and i divorced in 2005, at the time our divorce decree stated that "he shall claim both children on his taxes"
the children both live with me full time and go with him on the weekends. he does give me child support of up to 50% of their care. my question is, can i legally claim them?

 

[TheGeekess]

Dad cannot claim the EIC or the Child Care Credit, but if the court order says he gets the deduction, you sign the 8332 form, either willingly or a judge making you. (I would suggest doing it willingly. It's better than going in front of a judge yearly.)

If your income allows you to, you can claim the EIC and the Child Care Credit, but not the deduction.

 

[LdiJ]

Dad cannot claim the EIC or the Child Care Credit, but if the court order says he gets the deduction, you sign the 8332 form, either willingly or a judge making you. (I would suggest doing it willingly. It's better than going in front of a judge yearly.)

If your income allows you to, you can claim the EIC and the Child Care Credit, but not the deduction.

I agree, however its quite unusual for one parent to be given the tax exemptions across the board, without any kind of division.

If you are both working, then you might want to consider taking the issue back to court so that you each get to claim one child.

Also, even if you don't qualify for EIC, you could still claim the children as qualifying children for head of household purposes, (and claim daycare credits if you have daycare expenses). Of course, that is assuming that you haven't remarried.