shared custody

[Gretel]

If custody is shared both parents are eligible to claim kids, right? No form 8332.

But if one parent had kids and claimed kids for years and now other parent (my client, kids are teenagers and want to live with him) wants to claim them, is it advisable to have form 8332 signed anyway, so there will never be trouble ow and in future years?

[taxmandan]

Custody

Even in a joint custody situation, one of the them had the kid for 183 days, and is the custodial parent. That parent gets the dependent deduction. If there is no argument between parents about who claims the kid, then theIRS won't be looking for an 8332. But to be on the safe side, the non-custodial parent should get one signed.

[jainen]

Under the tax code

Under the tax code, custody is set by who the child lives with, regardless of the divorce decree. That is determined anew each year. The only way parents can share custody is if they live together. In that case, the tiebreaker rules determine who can claim the child--the parent who the child lived with longest, or if equal then the parent with the highest AGI.

Form 8332 can release the exemption to a parent who did not live with the child at least half of that particular year. Your idea that "there will never be trouble now and in future years" is a nice but somewhat unrealistic expectation concerning divorced parents and their teenagers.

[BP.]

I didn't read Gabriele's post to say "there will never be trouble . . ." But rather she was asking should the 8332 be signed to avoid trouble.