Q: I have a verbal agreement with my son's mother that I can use him as an exemption when filing my taxes.
This has been the process since his birth 13 years ago. She had two kids from a previous marriage where her ex and she agreed to spilt. Once the child that she was claiming aged out she can after me and wanted to share the exemption or take him outright. We have never been married nor do we have anything in writing. I agreed to pay for all of his medical and dental treatments, as well as all of his sports expenses and most other things that pop up like school expense and clothing. We spilt the time he is with us almost 50/50. Does she have right to claim him on her taxes or is this verbal agreement legal?
A:
In previous years, whichever parent had custody of the child the majority of the year, that parent had the right to claim the child per IRS rules.
However, now the only thing left is the Child Tax Credit. There is no longer a dependency exemption beginning in 2018 due to the tax law changes.
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