Roy and Linda divorced in 2018.The divorce decree awards custody of their children (all under age 17) to Linda but is silent as to who is entitled to treat them as dependents for purposes of claiming the child tax credit.If Roy furnished more than half of their support, he can claim the child tax credit for them in 2019.

Question

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The divorce decree is silent on who is entitled to claim the child tax credit, so the default rule applies, which is that the custodial parent is entitled to claim the child tax credit unless they release the claim to the non-custodial parent using IRS Form 8332. Therefore, unless Linda releases the claim to Roy, he cannot claim the child tax credit for the children in 2019. The fact that Roy furnished more than half of their support is not relevant in this case.

Roy and Linda Divorced in 2018