Tie-breaker rules apply to other tax benefits available to taxpayers who claim the child, such as...

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Tie-breaker rules decide which taxpayer may claim the child for certain tax benefits when more than one person could qualify. One practical example of a benefit affected by these rules is the Head of Household filing status. To use Head of Household, you must be unmarried (or considered unmarried) and the child must be a qualifying person who lived with you for more than half the year. If both parents could meet the tests, the tie-breakers determine which parent gets to file as Head of Household, usually favoring the custodial parent—the one with whom the child lived most of the year. This is why this option illustrates how tie-breaker rules govern who can claim the child for certain benefits.