Child support is not deductible by the
payer, and it does not have to be
claimed by the recipient. Your decree
should include a definitive ending
period for support not related to
the age or any life changes of your
children.
A special rule applies for determining
who gets the exemption for kids in
the case of a divorce or legal
separation. If you're the custodial
parent, you can claim them as a
dependent. However, the noncustodial
parent can claim the Dependent Exemption
and the Child Tax Credit
with the consent of the custodial
parent. The custodial parent can
"release" the child for this purpose
using Form 8332.
The custodial parent may still qualify
as Head of Household, and may be
eligible for the Care Credit,
Exclusion for Care Benefits and
Earned Income Credit for that child. The
noncustodial parent can't claim these
benefits even though that parent can
claim the exemption.
Custody should be spelled out clearly in
the decree. If there's any confusion,
the IRS may have cause to disaffirm the
claiming rights of either parent.
Head of Household Status
Several factors will determine if you're
eligible to file as Head of Household:
You have to be either unmarried or
considered unmarried on the
last day of the year.
A qualifying person must have lived in
your home for more than half the year.
You must have paid more than half the
cost of keeping up your home for the
year. You must file a separate tax
return, your home must have been
the main home of your child, stepchild
or eligible foster kids for more than
half the year; and you must be able to
claim an exemption.
If a person is your qualifying child,
then they are a qualifying person even
if you can't claim the exemption. But if they
are married,
they are not a qualifying person
unless you can claim an exemption for
them. Any other person is a
qualifying person only if you can claim
the exemption for that person. See IRS
Publication 501 for more detail about
the rules for a person who does not
qualify.
Support Information
for Parents & Guardians
Payments
your payment information - income
withholding & other ways to pay -
getting payments by Visa debit card or
direct deposit - payment timelines - how
support is paid out
Court orders (for support &
medical support)
setting support amounts - changing an
order - ending support - calculators &
worksheets - repaying birth costs
Support services
types of services - services provided -
fees for services - applying for
services
Legal fatherhood (paternity)
what is legal fatherhood - why it is
important - how to establish legal
fatherhood
More support information available
includes:
for the paying parent - for the parent
getting support -
who does what in support - support &
aid/benefit programs - rights &
responsibilities - forms & guides -
court forms & resources
Other resources for parents & guardians
tax information for parents - custody &
visitation - programs to help families -
much more
In family law and government policy,
support or maintenance is
the ongoing practice for a periodic
payment made directly or indirectly by
an "obligor" to an "obligee" for the
financial care and support of children
of a relationship or marriage that has
been terminated, or in some cases never
existed.
Sometimes, but not always, the
obligor is a non-custodial parent.
Sometimes, the obligee is a custodial
parent, caregiver or guardian, or the
government.
Depending on the jurisdiction, a
custodial parent may pay support
to a non-custodial parent. Typically
there is no gender requirement to child
support. Where there is joint custody,
the kids are considered to have two
custodial parents and no non-custodial
parents, thus a custodial parent
(obligor) will be required to pay the
other custodial parent.
In family law, support is often
arranged as part of a divorce, marital
separation, dissolution, annulment,
determination of parentage or
dissolution of a civil union and may
supplement alimony (spousal support)
arrangements.
The right to support and the
responsibilities of parents to provide
such support have been internationally
recognized.
The 1992 United Nations Convention on
the Rights of Children, a binding
convention signed by every member nation
of the United Nations and formally
ratified by all but Somalia and the
United States, declares that the
upbringing and development of kids
and a standard of living adequate for
development is a common
responsibility of both parents and a
fundamental human right for children.
