Children, Divorce and Taxes (Part 1)

It's that time of year! Taxes. Now parents start thinking about filing their taxes and confusion instantly hits. At the office, we start getting a lot of calls regarding divorce inflicted tax changes and who can claim the children on his/her taxes.

We have answers!

For all of your questions, we created a three part series regarding common questions about children, divorce and taxes. This post addresses questions about how to decide who can claim the children in the absence of a court order.

• Who is a qualifying individual for the dependent exemption?

In the case of a child, a person under the age of 19 or under 24 if a student as of the close of the tax year, for whom the parent has provided over half of the child’s support.

• Do the parents need to prove that they have provided more than 50 percent of the child’s support during the year?

No, generally parents don’t have to prove they have provided the support. But this is a requirement if a person other than the parent is seeking to claim the child tax exemption.

• Are there special rules for divorced parents?

Yes, the IRS sets out special rules for which parent can claim the child. This is generally the custodial parent: the parent with whom the child has spent more than 50 percent of the year.

• Who gets to claim the child tax exemption if there is no court order?

You will have to use the IRS’s rules for determining who can claim the child.

• How does the IRS determine who can claim the child?

The IRS looks at who is the custodial parent, who is the parent the child lives with for the greater part of the year, and generally allows that parent to claim the child.

• Who can claim the child if both parents had the child an equal amount of time?

In this case, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income may claim the child tax exemption.

For the extended article, check out our January newsletter. If you have more concerns regarding children, divorce and taxes, feel free to email me at contact@evantaylorlawoffice.com and we will provide answers to your questions!