April 2024 CSQ

the parent who receives support is the parent with whom the child lives for
most of the year—one requirement for claiming the EITC and the CTC.
However, parents who pay support
generally do not qualify for the EITC and
CTC due to the residential requirements. If a
parent who pays support has a qualifying
child and meets all other eligibility criteria,
he or she may be able to claim the EITC
and the CTC to include the amount for the
qualifying child. However, both parents
cannot claim the EITC and CTC for the
same child in the same tax year. In cases of
shared custody, the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) typically allows the parent who
receives support to claim the credit unless there is a written agreement or
court order specifying otherwise.
The differential impacts of the EITC and the CTC and Head of
Household filing status on parents who live apart: An Example
This scenario provides an example of how two parents living apart receive
substantially different tax benefits with respect to the EITC, the CTC, and
Head of Household filing status. iv
The facts of this scenario are as follows: two parents, Pat and Sam (both
30 years old), have one five-year-old child, Dana. Pat and Sam were never
married, and they live in separate households.
Pat and Sam have never gone to court to establish child support, though
parentage was established administratively at the time of Dana’s birth.
Dana lives most of the year (nine months) with Pat, and she lives with Sam
for three months during the summer.
Both parents earn the same income, and they equally share the cost of
childcare and medical expenses.
The following tables demonstrate the results of applying the current EITC
and CTC eligibility rules to Pat and Sam based on increasing income
levels.