A party’s right to claim one’s child as a dependent on income tax returns depends upon the number of overnight custody periods the child spends with that parent. The parent with the greater number of overnight custody periods of the child during a tax year will be entitled to claim the child as a dependent on their tax returns for that tax year. If the child spends an equal number of overnights with each parent during the year, the parent with the higher income is entitled to
claim the child as a dependent on his or her tax return. The parties can also agree on which parent can claim the child as dependent, but must execute the proper tax form to effectuate such agreement.
