My ex and I share 50/50 custody of our son - can neither of us claim him as a dependent on taxes?

What happens if neither parent agrees? My ex constantly argues about this and won't sign anything saying I can claim our daughter, even though we agreed verbally when we separated that we'd alternate years. This year is supposed to be my turn.

If you can't reach an agreement, then the IRS tiebreaker rules apply automatically. In that case, whoever has the higher adjusted gross income would be entitled to claim the child. If you had a verbal agreement to alternate years and your ex is now refusing to honor that, you might need to consult with a family law attorney about enforcing your agreement. If you both claim the child anyway (which happens more often than you'd think), the IRS will likely reject the second return filed. Then they'd initiate an audit process to determine who rightfully can claim the child based on their tiebreaker rules.

Does this tool work for other custody arrangements too? I have my kids 4 days a week but my ex thinks that because he pays more child support he automatically gets to claim them every year.

Sounds interesting but I'm skeptical about AI tools handling complex tax situations. How accurate is it really compared to a human tax professional? And does it consider state tax rules too or just federal?

It absolutely works for other custody arrangements too! The tool analyzes your specific schedule and helps determine who has the qualifying custody percentage. It also explains that paying child support doesn't automatically give someone the right to claim dependency - that's a common misconception. For complex tax situations, I was surprised by how accurate it was. I actually had my CPA verify some of the information it provided, and he confirmed it was right on target. It handles both federal and state tax considerations and explains which rules apply in your specific jurisdiction. It saved me from making mistakes that would have triggered an audit.

Wait how does this actually work? I thought it was impossible to get through to the IRS. Do they just keep calling for you or something?

Sorry but this sounds like BS. I've tried everything to get through to the IRS and nothing works. You're telling me this service magically gets you to the front of the line? How is that even possible?

They use a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they get a real person, they connect the call to your phone. So instead of you waiting on hold for hours, they do it for you, and you only get called when there's an actual agent ready to talk. It's not magic - they're just using technology to handle the most frustrating part (the waiting). The IRS doesn't have any "front of line" access, it's just that most people give up after being on hold for an hour. Having someone else handle that part made all the difference for me.

Thanks for this suggestion. Is this something we can add to our agreement after the fact? We already have a finalized custody order but it doesn't mention anything about taxes.

Yes, you can definitely modify your existing custody agreement to include tax arrangements. You'd need to file for a modification of the current order, which is much simpler than the original custody case. Many co-parents do this specifically for tax clarity. If going back to court seems too cumbersome, another option is to use Form 8332 (Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent) each year. The parent not claiming the child that year would sign this form and the claiming parent would attach it to their tax return. This is less permanent but works well for parents who can communicate reasonably well.

Did you have to pay any penalties when you amended your return? I'm in a similar situation and worried about getting hit with extra fees.

No penalties in my case since it was a genuine mistake based on custody confusion, not intentional fraud. The IRS was actually pretty understanding about it. I just had to pay back the child tax credit amount plus some interest (which wasn't much since I amended relatively quickly). The key is to respond promptly when you get the IRS letter and work with them to resolve it. They see custody disputes all the time so they know it's usually not malicious.