Can we both get Earned Income Credit?

It would be nice if you claimed two and allowed him to claim one of the children.

Generally the what you would lose by giving him one of the kids to claim would be greatly offset by what he would gain.

For example you might get 5k back if your claim all three kids and he might get back 1k but if you let him claim one you might get back 4k and he gets back 3k (assuming you both would claim head of household at that point)

Under NO circumstances can you both claim EIC with each claiming the same three kids on each seperate return.

IT might go along way in making some peace between the two of you if you would extend the olive branch and allow him to claim one of the kids.

If you purchase a tax software kit (walmart) you can figure out the exact effect of doing your taxes both ways and figure out what works best for your situation.

(please do not go to H & R block, if you do whatever you do, DO NOT file for the advance loan, (ral) rapid anticipation or whatever it is called. It will cost you $300.00 of YOUR own money to get this loan. If you send the papers directly to the irs they usually have the money back to you in four weeks....under normal circumstances you would NEVER even consider borrowing ANY amount of money if you had to pay the loan back at the cost of $300, for a one month loan!)

Nope - only the person with legal custody of the children is eligible for the Earned Income Credit (probably should have posted this question under the "Tax" category though, rather than "Credit")

If he tried to claim the credit too, there's a chance you'd both be audited so the IRS could figure-out who could legitimately claim the children (they'd want to see a divorce decree stipulating the custody). The trigger for the audit would be two separate tax returns listing the social security numbers of the dependent children twice. Odds of being audited generally are low, but this seems like a big, obvious red flag.

Good luck!

Each child can only be claimed by ONE person for purposes of the EIC. Your EIC is the same for 2 or more children. I am not sure if the IRS would allow you to claim all 3 for exemptions but allow him to claim 1 for the EIC. Consult a tax professional or at least re-post the question under Taxes -> United States.

no he cant claim earned income if you have custody unless you legally said he could claim one or more.and he cant deduct child support payments either.