In 2006 my son turned 18 .So in 07 on his taxes he claimed himself.His father also claimed him.Was he right?

I thought that because he was 18 before the half year that he can claim himself.His father said that he could not claim himself.My son never lived with him .His father could claim him up until he tirned 18.How is right?

No, He did not live with him at all. Unless he is away in college.

You can claim your son if he is under the age of 19 in 2007 so that isn't an issue(24 if in school).

His father could claim him as an exemption provided he met all the support tests. Age is irrelevant.

Who is right depends on who provided more than 50% of his upkeep during the year. In any case, a person can be claimed as a dependent only once. One of the tax returns is in error.

Was he in school?
The way mine worked I could claim them through the year they graduated high school.. Since my kids were already 18 when they graduated and turned 19 that year, I could claim them. Neither one lived with me but according to my divorce decree I could do this....

But this is a question for a tax advisor

What happened isn't right.

A person can only be claimed once for tax purposes - if you file your own taxes, no one else can claim you. If someone else can claim you, then you don't file your own taxes.

Who *should* have claimed your son? I can't answer that without knowing how much financial support his father provided to him during the year. (Though I'd be inclined to say that your son was entitled to file his own taxes as an adult, especially if he earned his own income. But if his father provided over 50% of his financial support, then that's another story.)

Your son should figure out for sure from a tax professional though - being that his SSN was used on 2 different tax returns, it could lead to trouble if an audit was done.

at 18 your son can claim himself. If your son is not living with his father then the father CAN NOT claim him after he turns 18.

We don't know.

Step 1.
Publication 501, do the support worksheet.
If your son supported himself, then he could claim himself. This is unlikely.

Step 2. If your son DIDN'T support himself, then we look at the definition for qualifying child.

Relationship (Yes)
Child under age of 19 (Yes)
Child lived with parent for over 6 months?

Child didn't live with dad, so did he live with mom?
Then mom was the custodial parent and is the presumed person to claim the exemption.

Step 3. Then we look at special rules for a child of divorced/separated parents. Parents together or separately meet 6 month test (if he lived with mom); parents together or separately meet support test (let's assume they did).

Did mom sign away exemption in divorce or did mom sign form 8332?

If yes, Dad had right to claim child.
If no, Dad has no right.

Your son has the right to claim himself. His father may have the right to claim him, depending on a lot of circumstances. If he passes all the tests, then he has the right to claim him. But only one can do it legally. If both can, they should have talked before taxes were done.
And the part about the right to claim his son until 24 depends on whether the son is in college.

Well, SOMEBODY wasn't right, only one person can claim any given person, and they'll both be hearing from the IRS if they haven't already. If your son provided over half of his own support for the year, then he could claim himself.

You say his father could claim him until he turned 18 - was that in the divorce decree or some other court decree? If not, then he couldn't claim him. Since he was 18 before the end of the year, then if the decree said his dad could claim him up to age 18, then that would have expired and he couldn't claim him for the 2006 tax year.

Possibly neither one was right. If your son didn't provide over half of his own support, if he lived with you for over half of the year then you are probably the only one who could legally claim him unless you signed over the exemption to his father.

They'll both get letters from the IRS telling them that they claimed a dependent that someone else claimed, and that the person not entitled to the exemption should amend his return dropping their claim. If neither of them does, then the IRS will look at everything and make the decision for them.