This depends on what agreements are made or if there are any temporary orders in place. If you were married on the last day of 2020, you have to file as married jointly or married filing separately. Whether these payments should be split depends on the unique circumstances of the parties. We recommend you reach out to speak with one of our attorneys if you have any questions.
Miscellaneous Other Child Tax Credit Information:
You have to file a tax return to get this credit, even if you don’t owe tax and are not legally obligated to file a return. This tax credit is refundable. So, if you’re due to receive a credit of $5,000 but you owe only $2,000 in taxes, you might get a check for $3,000. For the 2020 tax year, there are special rules due to coronavirus: You can use either your 2019 income or your 2020 income to calculate your tax credit, and you can use whichever number gets you the bigger tax credit. Be sure to ask your tax preparer to run the numbers both ways.
A number of states offer some version of an earned income tax credit for working families, so you might be able to get that credit too.