Anyone here claim dc every other year on taxes with ex?

[nataliachick7]

I def. got pressured to agree to every other year. But whats done is done. Im really broke and he is not, so im a little bummed i dont get to claim ds this year.
Im just wondering if ill even get anything back? someone said ill still be able to claim head of household so that will help? I only made like $11, 900 this year.
last year i made way less and got almost $3,000 back when i claimed ds. thanks mamas

[Ceinwen]

My ex tried to con me into it, and in the end it actually never went into our agreement at all. I was concerned when tax time rolled around this year, but my attorney informed me that since I have residential custody, and ex has visitation - I get to claim them. Also, just to smooth things over, I knew that ex was worried about an increase in his support this year (he would owe me more based on last years income) so I told him that we would keep his support the same this year as last (in writing, so as not to screw my self for future years) in exchange for me claiming both kids (which was not in writing, so as not to screw myself in future years, lol).

[SweetPea&Me]

I do every other year as well. You can still claim HOH as long as you are paying more than 50% of the house hold expenses that the "qualifying person"...this would be DS resides in. Here's the info from the IRS website and a link...

Let me know if you have any questions

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p501...link1000220775

Head of Household
You may be able to file as head of household if you meet all the following requirements.

You are unmarried or “considered unmarried” on the last day of the year.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

A “qualifying person” lived with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences, such as school). However, if the “qualifying person” is your dependent parent, he or she does not have to live with you. See Special rule for parent , later, under Qualifying Person.


If you qualify to file as head of household, your tax rate usually will be lower than the rates for single or married filing separately. You will also receive a higher standard deduction than if you file as single or married filing separately.

How to file. If you file as head of household, you can use either Form 1040A or Form 1040. Indicate your choice of this filing status by checking the box on line 4 of either form. Use the Head of a household column of the Tax Table or Section D of the Tax Computation Worksheet to figure your tax.

[nataliachick7]

thank u!

[Oh the Irony]

Check out the Earned Income Credit. You may well qualify and it is a huge help.

In prior years, when my income was lower, I found that it didn't effect my refund in a significant way to claim my boys as dependents so I let my ex do it. You can still claim them for the EIC though.

Do you know you can do your taxes online for free?

Go to www.taxfreedom.com and get hooked up to do them for free. You can play with the numbers to see if it even helps you to claim them.

This year it would make a huge difference. I'm hoping to get both as he has claimed them the past several years. If not, we'll each start claiming one every year.

[ArtsyMomma]

Even if you don't claim your child as a dependant, you can claim EIC if they lived with you more than 6 months of the year.

I did my taxes online (for free) through H&R Block, it was very easy.