HOH Eligible, Dependent

[geekgirldany]

I have a client that divorced in 2012. He will be getting me a copy of the divorce degree which states he is able to claim one of the two children as a dependent.

The divorced parents have joint custody with the mother have full physical custody. The children stay 50/50 with each parent.

I want to make sure I have this correct:

My client can claim HOH and get the child tax credit.
He does not have to get a Form 8332 signed because he is considered the custodial parent. I believe (will need to check) that he does have a higher AGI than the mother.

Thank you for any help as this can get confusing.
Dany

[BP.]

The children stay 50/50 with each parent.

he is considered the custodial parent.

I believe that he does have a higher AGI

If I understand your post correctly, then-
If custody is 50/50, and he is deemed the custodial parent due to higher AGI, then I think he'd need to execute an 8332 to the (deemed) non-custodial parent for the child he has agreed not to claim.
He can be HOH since he is custodial, and he can claim CTC by virtue of claiming child's exemption.

[ddoshan]

I have a client that divorced in 2012. He will be getting me a copy of the divorce degree which states he is able to claim one of the two children as a dependent.

The divorced parents have joint custody with the mother have full physical custody. The children stay 50/50 with each parent.

I want to make sure I have this correct:

My client can claim HOH and get the child tax credit.
He does not have to get a Form 8332 signed because he is considered the custodial parent. I believe (will need to check) that he does have a higher AGI than the mother.

Thank you for any help as this can get confusing.
Dany

If I understand your post correctly it is not that simple. First forget the divorce decree. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child spent the greater number of nites during the year 2012. Then start from there.

[DexEA]

If I understand your post correctly it is not that simple. First forget the divorce decree. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child spent the greater number of nites during the year 2012. Then start from there.

Agree. And in reality it's rarely 50/50 if even possible except for leap year. W/ more than one child it could be possible for each to have a child for greater than 1/2 the year. I have a couple that split the kids week by week during the school year and then in the summer the son stays with Dad and the daughter stays with Mom - so technically each has a qualifying child for more than 1/2 the year.

[geekgirldany]

Thank you all for responding.

I will have to double check with my client again but he said that both children spend half the week with one parent and the other half with the other parent.

I will get with him and find out the number of nights.

Just in case, if the child lived more nights with the mother than the father, then the father can not claim the child as a dependent, even though the divorce decree says he can, correct?
So the mother would have to sign a Form 8332 for him to be able to claim the child but he could still get HOH filing status, correct?

To bad things can not be so simple.

[BP.]

if the child lived more nights with the mother than the father, then the father can not claim the child as a dependent, even though the divorce decree says he can, correct?
So the mother would have to sign a Form 8332 for him to be able to claim the child but he could still get HOH filing status, correct?

As, ddoshan noted, ditch the divorce decree, and determine custody by number of nights.

If he is not custodial, then no HOH. Check TTB . 3-17- bottom right.

[DonPriebe]

Just in case, if the child lived more nights with the mother than the father, then the father can not claim the child as a dependent, even though the divorce decree says he can, correct?

Correct

... So the mother would have to sign a Form 8332 for him to be able to claim the child

Correct

but he could still get HOH filing status, correct?

Incorrect. The custodial parent can use Form 8332 to assign the dependency [and child tax credit] to the non-custodial parent, but this does not allow the non-custodial parent to claim HoH, EIC, or Child Care Credits.

[Golden Rocket]

Seriously Doubt It

I will have to double check with my client again but he said that both children spend half the week with one parent and the other half with the other parent.

Your client is being non-committal and most likely is not telling you the truth. The "days" are measured by where the child sleeps. Seven days in the week are not divisible by two.

This 50-50 stuff is manufactured and not real, and if they tell you they spend exactly the same nights with each parent, they are either lying, don't know, or have engineered a coincidence that rarely, if ever, exists.

I've been known to put a very quick end to this ridiculous 50/50 crap by telling them the IRS requires 51% for ANYONE to claim the benefit. At that point they shut up and tell me who the kid is REALLY living with. After they do this we can move on to other requirements.

But I can't do this anymore because the IRS says in the event of a true 50-50 situation, the higher AGI wins out. Telling them this allows them to continue to banter this 50-50 argument and put the tax preparer in the middle. As a preparer, I like the strategy in the aforementioned paragraph.

[ddoshan]

But I can't do this anymore because the IRS says in the event of a true 50-50 situation, the higher AGI wins out.

But in such situations then how to handle HH, EIC, Child Care Credit, etc. If eligible for at all?