Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Is it fair for my ex wife to claim our kid on her income taxes if I'm the one paying child support


Is it fair for my ex wife to claim our kid on her income taxes if I'm the one paying child support?
She wants to claim our kid on her taxes even tho I'm the one paying our kids health care and child support we have 50/50 custody.
Other - Taxes - 9 Answers



Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Im no expert, but in our experience if you have 50/50 joint custody then she can claim him one year and you the next. If you have 50/50 shared with her as the primary then she can claim every year and you never get to. Not fair huh?
2 :
It's not about fair or unfair. It's about who meets the requirements, which, for separated parents, the main issues are: Residence — for more than half the year, the child must live with the person claiming them. So, even though you have 50/50 custody, one of you has to have the child for more *nights* than the other- that's the parent who meets this requirement. Support — the person did not provide more than half of his or her own support during the year. So, as long as the child isn't providing more than half of their own support, one of you can claim him. It doesn't matter, for this test, who supports more than the other. Good luck! :0)
3 :
The IRS disregards "50/50" custody and goes by where the child sleeps at night and the exact arrangement during the school year. The fact that *you* are paying all the child support certainly suggests the child is living with her. BTW, if you can itemize (or use an FSA at work or HSA), you can still deduct your child's medical expenses even if mom is claiming him/her. This is the only spot in the code where both parents are deemed to have custody.
4 :
What does 50-50 mean? Does the child actually live with each of you the same length of time each year, and stay the same number of nights with each of you? If so, then the parent with the higher AGI (presumably you) gets the exemption. But if the child lives more of the year with your ex, then your ex gets the exemption even though you pay support and pay for health care.
5 :
Review the divorce decree see who can claim the child. Can she claim on the even and you the odd or some combinations thereof
6 :
Paying child support does NOT give you the exemptions. The law states that the parent that the children spend the most time with during the year is the custodial parent for tax purposes and the custodial parent gets the exemptions by law. If there is a very carefully worded court decree in place that went into effect prior to Jan 1, 2009 that gave you the exemptions the IRS would honor it. In all other cases, the custodial parent would have to give you a completed Form 8332 and you would have to attach that to your return to claim the children.
7 :
You had a horrible divorce lawyer. A good one would have argued that if you were paying for health care and child support that you would have been entitled to the deductions. However, without it in a divorce decree, tax law takes over. If they live with her more during the year than they live with you, she is entitled to take the deduction. What is fair is a moot point. Law takes precedence over fairness.
8 :
That's a question for a tax lawyer or advisor. I'd go ahead and claim them, and if she does also, then she's in hot water with the IRS. But make sure you're legal before you do it.
9 :
In the early 90s, Judge David Grey Ross, Commissioner of the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement ordered the states to adjust their guidelines to take into account in the child support guidelines. If they hadn't, you would be paying even more now. What's not yet taken into account is the child care deduction. In your case, with 50/50, the deduction should be switched yearly, but you will need a court order. Another way to address this would be with a Trust Fund, that both of you would pay in to, plus the saving from the tax deduction. http://tinyurl.com/ChildSupportTrustFund2 \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\




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Posted by Child Health at 5:15 PM