When can I claim my child as a dependent in a divorce?

In order to claim a person as your qualifying child dependant, the person has to pass the following tests:

1. The child must be your daughter or son, adopted or biological.
2. Your child must be under the age of 19 at the end of the year, under the age of 24 at the end of the year and a full time student, or any age and considered permanently and totally disabled. (Note: For older children, the dependent cannot claim a personal exemption on his or her personal tax return if claimed by you.)
3. Your child must have lived with you for more than half of the year – special rules exist for separated or divorced individuals.
4. Your child did not provide more than half of their support for the year.
5. If the child can be claimed by more than one individual, you must be the person entitled to claim the dependent as a qualifying child.

Requirements 1 and 2 are self explanatory.  Requirement 3 (determining the custodial parent), requirement 4 (providing support) and requirement 5 (multiple claims for the same dependent) are a little more tricky in separation or divorce situations.  We cover those situations in detail with examples in our e-book.

The determination of who will claim each child as a dependent should be made before the divorce and should ideally be spelled out in the official divorce documents.