# NRA Spouse - Our Children as my dependents?



## ex- (Sep 9, 2012)

Hi there, let me say that this website is a true godsend. It is the best resource on the internet as a US Expat, and I'd like to thank you all for your contributions to this knowledge base whole-heartedly... I've been browsing for a long time.

I am living abroad with NRA spouse who makes significantly more money than me. We have two children together, both of whom are US Citizens with SSNs and we all live together. Each year I file as: _Married Filing Separately_. Should I be trying to claim my children as dependents? When using TurboTax I can navigate the questions truthfully to end up with them as dependents but I am not sure if I am going contrary to the intent of the tax rules here. 

Questions I get from TurboTax are:
*1) Which parent spent the most nights with child in 2019?*
Technically that's me because my wife travels for work, with nights away from home.

*2) Are you letting your child's other parent claim him/her this year?*
I put "NO" but I'm not sure about this, does it matter what she does with her taxes to her home country?

*3) Did a relative of your child live in your home and help financially support him/her in 2019?*
I put "YES" (with the idea that my wife is that relative)

*4) Who received the highest income last year?*
I clicked on "The Relative Did"

*5) Tell us who will claim your child as a dependent on their tax return for 2019?*
I select "I will"

This works with TurboTax, but is this legit? Am I allowed to claim them from the IRS perspective? it is a tricky thing to understand. While all those answers were technically true, is this correct or should I be doing what I historically did and not claim them as dependents?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

If they are US citizens and have US SSN you should be able to claim them. However, to overcome some of the "disadvantages" of declaring as "married, filing separately" you should consider filing "head of household." It may wind up better for you (or so I'm told).


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## ex- (Sep 9, 2012)

okay, thank you for that information  
I'll look into that straight away!


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