Requirements to Claim a Dependent

[Forensicacctnt]

Client was unmarried at 12/31/20. Father and Mother live separately the entire year. One son who was 15 years of age at year end. Custody agreement is 50/50. (Divorced in 2021). The son lives with each parent 50% of the time. Father pays more than 50% of the son's living expenses for 2020. The divorce agreement says the father will claim the son in odd numbered years and the mother in even years. For the year 2020 the mother cannot claim the son related to filing as Head of Household since the father paid more than one half the son's living expenses. So the mother has to file as, "Married Filing Separately" on her federal return. Is there any other option where the mother can file as "HOH"? Thank you.

[New York Enrolled Agent]

Client was unmarried at 12/31/20. Father and Mother live separately the entire year. One son who was 15 years of age at year end. Custody agreement is 50/50. (Divorced in 2021). The son lives with each parent 50% of the time. Father pays more than 50% of the son's living expenses for 2020. The divorce agreement says the father will claim the son in odd numbered years and the mother in even years. For the year 2020 the mother cannot claim the son related to filing as Head of Household since the father paid more than one half the son's living expenses. So the mother has to file as, "Married Filing Separately" on her federal return. Is there any other option where the mother can file as "HOH"? Thank you.

Where did the son spend the most number of nights? It’s very, very difficult for me to believe the son spends exactly 183 nights with each parent.

Once you tell us who the custodial parent is, we may be able to help.

[Forensicacctnt]

I will check with the client about number of nights spent with the mother. There is no custodial parent in their divorce according to my question on this with the mother yesterday. Custody is 50/50 between the parents.

[Lion]

The IRS doesn't care what the divorce decree says. Follow the IRS rules. Have your client count the number of nights the child slept at her house (or would've been at her house except for visiting grandma or whoever).

[ATSMAN]

The IRS doesn't care what the divorce decree says. Follow the IRS rules. Have your client count the number of nights the child slept at her house (or would've been at her house except for visiting grandma or whoever).

Lion is correct. If I had a $ for every time I got into a argument about "custodial parent or 50/50 custody" with divorced parents I would have retired! People just don't seem to get it. I have actually printed the eligibility and documents needed to support dependency and given them to divorced clients with minor children. Getting them to fill out that worksheet is a royal pain!

[Forensicacctnt]

To: All who have responded: Thank you very much for the information you provided. I now understand the specifics of the tax law and what needs to be done. I appreciate the clarification about custodial parent under IRS rules. I saw a worksheet in IRS Pub. 501 for Costs of Keeping Up a Home. The mother tells me her son spent more nights with her than his father in 2020.

[Lion]

The costs of keeping up a home are part of HOH, along with having a dependent (even if not claiming in a given year to give the dependency to an ex). The only support test for claiming a dependent is that the potential dependent cannot pay more than half his own support. You need to step through the qualifications for each -- HOH and Dependent -- separately and don't mix them.

[Forensicacctnt]

To Lion, thank you for the additional information. I appreciate it. Carl