Claiming a child for taxes?

Question

my husband wants to claim his daughter, the mother does not work...but she did 6 months out of this year but hasn't the last 6 months of the year---right after my husbands child support got raised to 349 / month she quit her job, we did not have the child 180 days and i heard that was the cut off is that true? a banker told us if we both tryed to claim her that someone would just decide...and it would be my husband bc he works and pays child support is this true and if anyone knows anymore information let me know

Answer 1

Unless there is something in writing saying otherwise, the custodial parent is the one with the right to claim the child. If the divorce decree or child support agreement says otherwise, then the non-custodial parent can claim the child.

The custodial parent can also give a written statement to the non-custodial parent allowing them to take the exemption, and stating that she will not take it. There's an IRS form that can be used, or it can just be a written statement as long as it contains all the required statements.

Other than that, the non-custodial parent isn't allowed to take the exemption no matter how much support they're paying.

It's true that if both parents claim the child, the IRS will decide. Their tie-breaker rules are in Publication 17, and probably other places as well. The first tie-breaker rule is that the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year gets to claim the child, so you'd lose.

Nobody ever said life was fair. ;-{

Answer 2

Is the mother collecting welfare? That is a deciding factor. Is there anything in the court order for custody that may refer to who gets to claim their daughter? If there isn't, you may ant to suggest that your husband get it put into the custody order. You may need to check with a family lawyer.