Can Only One Parent Claim a Child as a Dependent?
When multiple people could claim the same child, specific IRS rules determine who is eligible. Understand how these guidelines work for different family structures.
A core principle of the U.S. tax system is that only one person can claim an individual as a dependent in a tax year, preventing multiple taxpayers from receiving benefits for the same child. When more than one person, such as two parents, could potentially claim the same child, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides guidelines to determine who has the rightful claim.
The process for determining who can claim a child involves a series of tests. First, the child must meet the criteria to be a “qualifying child” under the tax code. If the child meets these tests for more than one person, further regulations, often called “tie-breaker” rules, are applied to assign the claim to a single individual.
The Qualifying Child Tests
For a child to be claimed as a dependent, they must meet five distinct tests established by the IRS. The first is the relationship test, which requires the child to be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, or a descendant of any of these, like a grandchild. This test also includes your brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. An adopted child is always treated as your own child.
The age test requires the child to be under age 19 at the end of the tax year and younger than you. Alternatively, the child can be under age 24 if they were a full-time student for at least five months of the year. There is no age limit for a child who is permanently and totally disabled.
The residency test mandates that the child must have lived with you for more than half of the year, with allowances for temporary absences for school, vacation, or medical care. The support test requires that the child could not have provided more than half of their own financial support during the year. Finally, the joint return test states the child cannot file a joint tax return with a spouse, unless they are filing only to claim a refund.
Applying the Tie-Breaker Rules
When a child meets the qualifying child tests for more than one person, and those individuals are not the child’s divorced or separated parents, the IRS applies a sequence of tie-breaker rules. This situation can occur if a child lives with a parent and another relative, like a grandparent, and meets the qualifying tests for both.
The first rule gives priority to the child’s parent. If only one of the individuals is the child’s parent, that parent has the right to claim the child.
If both individuals are the child’s parents, the next rule focuses on residency. The parent with whom the child lived for the longer period during the tax year gets to claim the child, which is determined by counting the number of nights. If the time is equal, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year has the right to claim the child.
Special Rule for Divorced or Separated Parents
For parents who are divorced, legally separated, or have lived apart for the last six months of the tax year, a special rule generally overrides the standard tie-breaker rules. This rule applies as long as the parents together provided more than half of the child’s support and the child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half the year.
This rule centers on the “custodial parent,” who is defined as the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the non-custodial parent. The custodial parent is treated as having the right to claim the child, even if the non-custodial parent provides significant financial support.
The custodial parent does have the option to release their claim. This allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child, a process governed by specific documentation.
How a Non-Custodial Parent Can Claim the Dependent
A non-custodial parent can claim a child as a dependent only if the custodial parent agrees to release their claim. This is formally done when the custodial parent signs a declaration that they will not claim the child for that tax year.
The most common way to do this is by completing IRS Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent. The IRS will also accept a similar written declaration if it contains the same information required on the form.
While a divorce decree or separation agreement may state that a non-custodial parent can claim a child, the document itself is not sufficient for tax purposes. The non-custodial parent must have the signed Form 8332 or the equivalent written declaration before they file their taxes.
Filing Your Tax Return with a Dependent Claim
When filing, the non-custodial parent must attach a copy of the signed Form 8332 or the equivalent written declaration to their tax return. This attachment authorizes the non-custodial parent to claim the child for certain tax benefits, such as the Child Tax Credit. If the tax return is filed electronically, the form or declaration must be submitted with Form 8453.
The custodial parent, having released the claim, files their own tax return without claiming the child as a dependent. Should both parents mistakenly claim the same child, the IRS may initially accept both returns. The agency will later send letters to both individuals notifying them of the duplicate claim, apply the tie-breaker rules to determine which parent had the legal right, and disallow one of the claims.