Michelle My Bell Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 If my ex and I have 4 eligible children to claim (oldest is 18), all of them live with me 100% of the time, I claim 3 (max you can claim on taxes) can he claim the 4th on his taxes? I ask because we are working on our dissolution and my aunt, a lawyer put the following in the forms before she refused to help us any longer. I am confused if this is even legal... Tax Deduction: The mother shall be entitled to the tax deduction for the three youngest minor children in all years beginning with 2012. The Father shall be entitled to the tax deduction for the two eldest children in all years beginning with 2012. Father’s right to claims said minor children shall be contingent upon him being substantially current in his child support obligation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Yes, that is legal. And he can still claim your 18yo if she qualifies as a dependent. I have 4 children who live with me 100% of the time. Two oldest get visits with my ex. Ex claims one of them each year. And the contingency about paying child support to claim one is a good idea. That's not a prerequisite otherwise. But it is not true that the maximum number of children you can claim is 3... you can claim however many dependents you actually have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Actually I mean you can only claim 3 for the child tax credit, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 I claimed four but not sure how many counted for tax credit?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Actually I mean you can only claim 3 for the child tax credit, correct? You need at least 3 to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit, but I'm quite sure you can claim as many minors as you have for the regular Child Tax Credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Yes, it is legal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 All 4 of mine qualified for the CTC.....I don't think there is a limit unless your income is over $xxxxxx? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Actually I mean you can only claim 3 for the child tax credit, correct? We claimed 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle My Bell Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 OK, I realized I was calling it the wrong thing. I went and looked at our taxes and what I really mean is Earned Income Credit you can only claim 3 kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 That is perfectly legal but you said you have four eligible children and what you wrote says you claim the three youngest and he claims the two oldest (5 total)? Assuming you meant 5 kids total that would work fine. (but technically, if they live with you 181 days or more you get to claim them all per IRS rules, there is no argument he could make to win that if you decide you want to do it that way instead of giving him some of the deductions). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Assuming you meant 5 kids total that would work fine. (but technically, if they live with you 181 days or more you get to claim them all per IRS rules, there is no argument he could make to win that if you decide you want to do it that way instead of giving him some of the deductions). Unless there is a court-ordered agreement, which it seems is what the OP is trying to come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Right, but my point is that she is legally entitled to claim all 5 unless she wants to be nice and grant him a deduction (or more) in the final agreement. She certainly doesn't have to and there is nothing he could do about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 He can claim them as dependents and get their dependent deduction. In order for him to get the ETC legally, he has to provide more than 50% of their financial support and possibly have that 181 day thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 We we not able to claim our dd once when was 16...Crazy. But, we will be able to claim her college bills once they arrive. I hope you sort this out; I dread loosing our ds as a deduction soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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