Who claims the dependent child for tax purposes?

Generally, the parent with custody (majority timesharing in Florida) can claim the child on his or her tax return. If parents split timesharing and are not filing a joint return, they will have to decide which parent gets to claim the child. This decision is made in divorce mediation or, if the parents cannot agree, by the judge. Remember, only one parent can claim the dependency deduction in a given year as far as IRS is concerned.