Child Support

questions & answers

Question: Can my baby daddy carry our child on his income taxes because he pays chil support, being that she lives with me and he lives in another state,

Answer: According to the IRS http://www.irs.gov/publications/p504/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000175911

In most cases, because of the residency test (see item 3 under Tests To Be a Qualifying Child in Table 3), a child of divorced or separated parents is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if the special rule (discussed next) applies.

  A child will be treated as the qualifying child of his or her noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true.

  1. The parents:

    1. Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,

    2. Are separated under a written separation agreement, or

    3. Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.

  2. The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents.

  3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.

  4. Either of the following applies.

    1. The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she will not claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984, see Divorce decree or separation agreement that went into effect after 1984 and before 2009 , or Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement , later.

    2. A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2014 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement was not changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent cannot claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during 2014. See Child support under pre-1985 agreement , later.

Custodial parent and noncustodial parent.   The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent.   If the parents divorced or separated during the year and the child lived with both parents before the separation, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the rest of the year.   A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the child sleeps:

  • At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present, or

  • In the company of the parent, when the child does not sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vacation together).

QUESTIONS

  • Can my baby daddy carry our child on his income taxes because he pays chil support, being that she lives with me and he lives in another state,

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