My ex husband, if he's being honest, doesn't get as much for claiming our son. What would be the reason for that?

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
June 1, 2019
5 replies
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Best answer by Texas Roger

If you are the custodial parent who the child lives with more than half the year, then you may be splitting the tax benefits from your son. That might result in you getting more than him. For divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, the custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person who the child lived with for more than half the year, can claim head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit. The non-custodial parent, if allowed by divorce decree or consent of the custodial parent on form 8332 or similar signed statement, can claim the dependency exemption and child tax credit. For post-2008 divorce decrees or agreements, form 8332 or similar signed statement is required. The child tax benefits cannot be split any other way.

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SweetieJean

Employee

Get as much as what exactly?

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atreausmomAuthor

Employee

Money on his tax return

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Texas RogerAnswer

Employee

If you are the custodial parent who the child lives with more than half the year, then you may be splitting the tax benefits from your son. That might result in you getting more than him. For divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart, the custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person who the child lived with for more than half the year, can claim head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit. The non-custodial parent, if allowed by divorce decree or consent of the custodial parent on form 8332 or similar signed statement, can claim the dependency exemption and child tax credit. For post-2008 divorce decrees or agreements, form 8332 or similar signed statement is required. The child tax benefits cannot be split any other way.

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Opus 17

Employee

It's important to understand that if you do it correctly (and legally), the non-custodial parent always gets a smaller benefit than the custodial parent. The non-custodial parent can claim the dependent exemption and the child tax credit but never qualifies for earned income credit, the dependent care credit, or use of head of household status.

However, claiming the child as a non-custodial parent is better than nothing.

If you allow your ex to claim full dependent benefits as if the child lived with him more than half the year, you would be losing certain tax benefits yourself and also putting yourself in a position to get sanctioned if the IRS catches the two of you.

I have always thought that it would be cleaner and easier for the non-custodial parent to negotiate an every-other-year reduction in child support, rather than swapping the dependent exemption, to the same net financial effect. But that would be less work for lawyers and accountants.

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SweetieJean

Employee

Some possibilities:

1. His tax liability is already low, so the Personal Exemption (subtraction from income) for your son doesn't help much.

2. Or, his income is so high that Personal Exemptions phase out.

3. His income is too high for EIC and/or the Child Tax Credit.

macuser_22

Employee

"His income is too high for EIC..." unless the child lived with him more than 1/2 the year he cannot claim the child for EIC.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**

Hal_Al

Employee

The non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the exemption to him. But, the custodial parent may claim those items, even if the non custodial parent is claiming the exemption and child tax credit (CTC).

In addition to that reason, it's also possible for the custodial parent to get more benefit from the exemption and CTC, depending on income levels.