Dispute about who should claim our child on taxes - what are the rules?

Thanks for clearing that up. So if I'm understanding right, it sounds like either of us could technically claim our daughter? Would it make more sense financially for one of us over the other? We're just trying to maximize our combined refund since we share expenses anyway. Also, I'm confused about the Head of Household thing - can both of us claim that status or only one of us?

Only one of you can claim your daughter as a dependent, and only one can file as Head of Household. Since you both live together with your child, you'll need to decide together who claims what. For maximizing your combined refund, it often makes financial sense for the lower-income person to claim the child because of income-based tax credits. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is more valuable at lower income levels, and someone making $67,000 might phase out of some credits that your fiancée would qualify for at $31,500. You might want to run the numbers both ways using tax software to see the actual difference.

How does that work with sharing the info though? Do both people need to upload their stuff, or can one person do it? My girlfriend and I have the same issue but she's weird about sharing her tax docs with random websites.

Sounds like an ad. Does it actually work with complicated situations? I have split custody with my ex and we alternate years, but now I'm remarried and having another kid, so I'm wondering if this tool could handle something messy like that.

You can upload both people's tax docs if you have them, or you can enter the info manually if your partner doesn't want to share directly. You just need to know their approximate income, filing status, and if they have other dependents. My ex was hesitant too, so I just had him tell me his income and entered it myself. The tool handles pretty complex situations - split custody, remarriage, multiple children with different arrangements. It specifically asks about custody agreements, living arrangements, and support provided. It also explains which IRS rules apply to your specific situation, which was super helpful when my ex didn't believe the results at first.

How does this even work? Seems impossible that they could get you through faster than everyone else waiting on hold. Is it legit or some kind of scam?

Yeah right. The IRS phone system is completely backed up all tax season. There's no magical way to skip the line. If this actually worked, everyone would be using it and then it wouldn't work anymore. I'm calling BS on this.

It uses a system that continuously calls and navigates the IRS phone tree for you. When it finally gets a spot in line, it calls you and connects you directly to that spot. It's not skipping the line exactly - it's just automating the horrible process of calling back over and over. I was skeptical too, but it legitimately works. The IRS phone system hangs up on people when the wait times are too long, so most people can't just sit on hold for hours hoping to get through. This service just handles the redial process for you until it finds an opening, then connects you at that point.

We actually hadn't thought about that! That's a really interesting idea that might avoid the annual argument. Do you know if they both take turns with Head of Household too, or just the dependent claim?

They both take turns with everything - dependent claim, child tax credit, and head of household. They actually put it in writing too, like a simple agreement they both signed, so there's no confusion each year. My brother did say they had to adjust it one year when his girlfriend wasn't working much because it made way more sense financially for him to claim that year. But having the agreement as a baseline helped them discuss it without it turning into a fight.

I've noticed this too! I ran mine through three different programs last year just to check, and FreeTaxUSA actually gave me the highest refund. I think different software calculates certain credits slightly differently or asks questions in ways that lead to different inputs.

Exactly! I think it's because they ask the qualifying questions in different ways. Some make certain deductions or credits more obvious than others. I always tell people to at least try a free calculator from 2-3 different places before filing. You don't have to actually file through all of them, but at least see if there's a big difference in the results. It's worth the extra hour of your time if you find hundreds in additional refund money.