If divorced taxpayers with two children in a shared custody arrangement, have custody about half the time for both children. Each parent is allowed the dependency exemption for one of the children according to the divorce papers. Can both parents claim the Head of Household filing status using thier dependent as the qualifying person? The rules are unclear to me in this regard.
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I believe....
each child would have had to live with a parent more than 1/2 of the year in order to claim HoH. -
Neither
Jim, in your scenario NEITHER would be able to claim HoH, because as Eli posts, the requirement is for the child to live OVER half the year with the child that qualifies the parent.
Of course, it is a ridiculous probability that ANY child would live exactly half the time with each parent in any year other than the year of separation. You raise a good question, however, because in the past I have had a couple clients claim this was the case, in an attempt to get me to referee between the ex-spouses. After I tell them NEITHER could claim, their story changed abruptly.Comment
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HOH for shared children
There were 365 days in the year, so one or both of the children likely were at one of the homes for over 1/2 the year.
If the parent paid for over half the cost of the home where they and the child lived over half the year, the child was under 19 (under 24 if a FT student), parent provided more than half of the support for child and IS A DEPENDENT of the taxpayer, than it would appear to me that they could claim HOH for that child(ren).
What am I missing if I am worng on this? As a newer preparer, maybe I am missing something...Comment
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Agree
I agree with Beth. I have client in same circumstance. Decree permits each to the exemption of one child. My client uses 7 months residency to meet the dependency and the HOH tests.Comment
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TTB, page 3-16, 5th situation covers this. When there is 50% custody by both parents, it goes to the parent who can prove over 50% custody. Two court cases are referenced in the footnote that deal with who has physical custody the longest. Under the tie breaker rules, if both parents try to claim the child and neither can establish the longer custody, it goes to the one with the highest AGI.Comment
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Hoh
My question asked if BOTH parents could claim the hoh filing status, each using one of the two children as a qualifying child.Comment
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Hoh
If each can properly meet all of the requirements for one of the children, then I believe the answer is yes. But I would review the criteria to be sure it is met carefully.Comment
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Same Answer
Based on my understanding, and also my interpretation of other posts above, the tests would be applied on each child.
If either child spent more than 50% with one parent, that parent could claim HoH assuming all other criteria were met. As I understand your post, neither child spends a majority of time with either parent. It is physically impossible for any child to spend more than 50% of his residential days in more than one place.
In spite of the widely-expected regulations from IRS to issue a "uniform definition of a qualifying child" for ALL purposes for the 2005 tax season, I don't know that we are much better off. Local decrees still prevail so long as they are documented and are functionally synonymous with the 8332. Each of the four benefits appear to have separate prerequisites. And there are still "tie-breakers" which gravitate to the ex-spouse with the greater AGI.
Wonder how a tax practitioner is supposed to know which ex-spouse has the greater AGI? Sometimes the client doesn't even know, and they will often tell us what is advantageous whether they know or not...Last edited by Snaggletooth; 01-01-2007, 05:39 PM.Comment
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that's the theory
>>It is physically impossible for any child to spend more than 50% of his residential days in more than one place<<
It is not impossible to be with both parents more than 50%. It can get mighty tricky. Suppose the parents live together for seven months, with father paying all the bills. Then father moves out with child. Mom takes the opportunity to clean up the old place with new furniture and so on. Dad will have the qualified child, but not HoH because mom paid more than half the cost of the home where the child lived for more than six months.
Well, at least that's the theory.Comment
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