husband is separated from the wife. they have 3 kids who are now living with mom. can husband claim the kids as dependants. he is paying for child support

[TurboTaxSusan]

It depends. Most child support payments paid are not deductible. If they are, then the husband doesn't need to claim the children as dependants to enter the amount, he just needs to enter them on the Spousal and Child Support Payments Made page in the Deductions section.

If the husband made other payments or claims related to the children, like medical expenses or tuition transfer, then would need to claim the kids as dependants in order to enter that info.

If the father wants to claim the eligible dependant credit (line 30400), then usually it's not permitted to claim this amount if you are required to make child support payments for the child, unless they have an agreement with the other person that they are allowed to do so.