RUMOR: The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to children born to parents illegally in the U.S. Critics argue that automatic birthright citizenship could be changed by revoking the statute. Others say it would require a constitutional amendment because they believe the 14th Amendment requires birthright citizenship.
Answer: Each child can only be claimed as a dependent by one parent (except when married couples file taxes jointly). Typically, in the case of divorced, separated, or never married parents, it is the custodial parent who is legally able to claim a child as a dependent for tax purposes.
Who Claims. Itâs common for the custodial parent â the one the child spends more than half the year with â to claim the dependent. But the noncustodial parent may claim the dependent if he or she provided half of the childâs support.