This should be spelled out in your divorce decree. I have the larger share of custody, but my ex and I each claim one of our two kids.

If she has physical custody the IRS will see her as the one who should claim them unless you have an agreement in place that states otherwise.

I posted in the other thread and you need to refer to IRS publication 501: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501

The bottom line is the parent with custody has the right to claim the children as far as the IRS is concerned for divorces after 2009 unless you have a signed Form 8332. Do you? If your divorce decree says you are entitled to claim them you need to get that form signed. If your decree is silent regarding claiming the children your lawyer probably screwed up big time, especially since the value of claiming them was known at the time of your divorce since the new tax law was in effect.

She can do what she wants except for a court order sharing.

Usually parents take turns every year in claiming their dependents, but it’s also usually written down in the divorce decree. This is for parents with 50/50. If you didn’t discuss it ahead of time (and she’s paying a majority of the support due to your limited child support and income), then she should probably get the deductions every year (or some negotiated version of that).

It sounds like she supports the kids and therefore should claim them. Although if you guys are friendly it might be a possibility to ask her if you can claim them - if you get a total of more money that way then you can split the excess. IOW, for round numbers, if claiming them gets her an additional $1,000 but would get you $1500, you could both agree for you to claim them, and she gets $1250 and you get $250 (splitting the "extra" $500).

Another post got me thinking about my own situation. Officially divorced in November so this is the first year we are filing separately. We have two kids. She has full physical custody, though I see the kids most days before or after school for some time. This was decided as I don't have the money for my own place. We have joint legal custody. I pay child support though it is admittedly low due to unemployment for several years. It does not cover half of the expenses, but I do pay the correct amount each month. Nothing is stated in our separation agreement.

She just texted me that she claimed both kids. Should I have questioned this or does that sound correct in this situation?