noncustodial parent CTC
I am having trouble with a father claiming the child, while the mother used the child for qualifying for EIC. Where do I mark the father qualifies so it allows the CTC, not EIC? The program isn't asking me about form 8332.
Answers
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Hello Julesann69,
When entering the child as a dependent, the second screen will ask: "Did the dependent live with you in the United States for all of 2025? By entering "No," and then entering less that 6 months, this will prevent the software from applying the EIC to the father's return and limits the child's tax benefits to the Child Tax Credit.
The software will then ask if the taxpayer and spouse listed on the return are both the dependent's parents, enter "No" if one of them is not. The software will then ask who is the parent. The following screen will ask if the father has an agreement with the dependent's other parent saying who can claim them?
If you select "Yes," the software will ask, "Are you claiming the dependent on your tax return due to a custody agreement, such as a divorce decree, Form 8332, or other written agreement?" If you select "Yes," the software will indicate since you are the non-custodial parent you won't be able to claim the Earned Income Credit or the Child Care Credit for them. The software will ask you questions later to make sure you get any deductions or credits your dependent qualifies for including the Child Tax Credit.
If you need to file Form 8332 (signed by the custodial mother), it will need to be downloaded, completed, and attached to the father's return. You can find the form here:
If you are filing your return electronically, you must mail Form 8332 with Form 8453 to the IRS within 3 business days after receiving acknowledgement that the IRS has accepted the electronically filed tax return.
You can find Form 8453 here:
You may also find this community article helpful for reference:
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That’s the problem. It is not asking me those questions. I deleted the child and re-entered and it still not asking me. The child is H**** H****. I selected no the child did not live with dad. The next screen asked me if she made more than $5200.
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Hi Julesann69,
Our Customer Support team is happy to look into this for you. Once logged your FreeTaxUSA account, select the Support Center on the top right side of the screen to contact them.
If they qualify for the CTC and not the EIC, the dependent summary screen will say, "Congratulations! They qualify as your dependent.
Since you're the non-custodial parent you won't be able to claim the Earned Income Credit or the Child Care Credit for them. However, we'll ask questions later to make sure you get any deductions or credits they qualify for (including the Child Tax Credit),"0
