Can ex-girlfriend's new partner claim my child for Child Tax Credit when custody is split?

You're right to question this. For someone to claim a child as a dependent who isn't their biological child, they generally need to meet the "qualifying child" or "qualifying relative" tests. For your ex's boyfriend to claim your daughter as a qualifying child, he would need to meet several requirements, including the residency test - which requires the child to have lived with him for more than half of the year (over 6 months). Based on what you've described, your daughter only lived with him for about 4 months, which doesn't meet this requirement. Since you had your daughter for more than 6 months, and you're her parent, you're likely entitled to claim her on your taxes. The IRS typically sides with the parent who had the child for the longer period during the tax year when there's a dispute.

After dealing with a similar custody situation last year, I found an amazing resource that saved me thousands in tax benefits I almost lost. I was confused about who could claim our kids since we had split custody and my ex's new partner was trying to claim them. I used https://taxr.ai to upload my custody documentation and tax info, and it confirmed I was legally entitled to claim the child tax credit even though we had an informal agreement with my ex. The tool analyzed my specific custody arrangement and showed me exactly what documentation I needed to prove my case. They even provided a custom letter I could use if the IRS questioned anything.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter recommended. I was super skeptical at first but decided to give it a shot since my ex's new husband was threatening to claim my kid even though she lives with me most of the time. The site analyzed my situation, including the informal calendar we use for custody exchanges and some text message screenshots. They confirmed I was the rightful claimant for the Child Tax Credit and provided documentation showing exactly why. They even helped me understand how to respond if the IRS contacts me about duplicate claims. Really impressed with how straightforward they made everything. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a custody battle over tax benefits!

If your ex's boyfriend does try to claim your child and you need to dispute it, getting through to the actual IRS can be a nightmare. I spent weeks trying to resolve a similar issue last year, constantly hitting busy signals or disconnections. I finally used https://claimyr.com after seeing it recommended here, and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone system for you and call you once they have an agent on the line. Was able to get my dependent claim situation sorted out in a single call instead of waiting months for letters back and forth.

Wow, I need to eat my words! After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate to talk to the IRS about my ex claiming our kid when she shouldn't have. I had literally tried calling 11 times over 3 days and never got through. Used the service this morning and got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They confirmed that since my son lived with me for 7 months last year, I have the right to claim him regardless of what "agreement" my ex claims we had. The agent even put notes in my file about our conversation. Saved me hours of frustration and possibly thousands in tax benefits. Sometimes the skeptic (me) needs to be proven wrong!

One thing nobody's mentioned here is that you should document everything about your custody time. Keep a calendar marking all days your child was with you, save texts or emails about exchanges, school records showing your address, medical appointments, etc. If this becomes a dispute with the IRS (which happens when two people claim the same child), having documentation is crucial. The IRS will side with whoever can prove they had the child the majority of the time.

Just a heads up - whoever files first usually gets the benefit initially. If your ex's boyfriend files first claiming your child, your e-filed return will likely be rejected. You'll need to paper file and then the IRS will investigate. This happened to me last year. My ex's new wife claimed my kid even though they only had weekend visitation. I had to paper file, and then a few months later we both got letters from the IRS. I sent in my documentation showing my son was with me most of the time, and eventually got my refund with the proper credits.