Joint Custody and filing taxes

[jenaw3]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey


I was never married to my daughter’s father. I have always been the one to claim her on my taxes. He didn’t start to pay child support until my daughter was 3 ½ years old. She is now 5.
We do have Joint Custody and there is a child support order through the court, which he is always behind in paying and never consistent with paying.
The Day Care expenses I pay are not and have not been included in the Child Support order because when the order was put into place I was laid off and didn’t have any daycare expenses which was 3 ½ years ago.

My question is can her father just go claim my daughter on his taxes. This was something that was never worked out in court. I told him not to claim her because I am going to. I agreed to go to court about this to discuss it for next year. He did get his W2 forms already and I haven’t gotten mine so obviously he’d be able to do his taxes first. How can he claim the Daycare Expenses when he doesn’t pay for them. I am the one that handles most of her bills.

Please help me with any advice.

 

[stealth2]

Your best bet would be to go look at www.irs.gov to see what the exact requirements are for claiming a dependant. They are different for parents who were married and parents who were not. But as I recall, since you were not married, the parent who provided more than 50% of the child's support, is the parent who gets the deduction.

 

[KCMR]

You should go ahead and file an electronic return first if it comes back with duplicate soc #'s , then file a paper return. What will happen is the IRS will receive a "red flag" when your daughters social security # pops up in their system twice. You will both at that time be made to prove who has had your daughter for the 12 mo's of the year.

Obviously you will win this one.

He can file for the daycare expenses but you are the one that has paid it...so he loses.


Child Support means nothing to the IRS.

 

[stealth2]

You should go ahead and file an electronic return first if it comes back with duplicate soc #'s , then file a paper return. What will happen is the IRS will receive a "red flag" when your daughters social security # pops up in their system twice. You will both at that time be made to prove who has had your daughter for the 12 mo's of the year.

Obviously you will win this one.

He can file for the daycare expenses but you are the one that has paid it...so he loses.


Child Support means nothing to the IRS.

I have to disagree, Aricci - it does mean something to the IRS in certain circumstances. Poster needs to either research the IRS guidelines for her situation, or speak with a tax professional.

 

[VeronicaGia]

Go to the IRS website and read Publication 501.

 

[tarabook]

If it doesn't say in your paperwork about child support and visiation that he has the right to claim the child on his income taxes, then he doesn't have the right. you have all the right to claim her. and if he does cliam her he has to have your permission to do so. i went through the same problem with my ex. and he losted. i get to claim her, cause she lives with me 12 months out the year and i pay for her expenses,

 

[VeronicaGia]

tarabook

The IRS laws are different if the parties were married versus never married. Since the poster was never married to her daughters father, she and he should read IRS Publication 501 and take the "support test."

If they were married, she would have to sign a form allowing him the deduction. Since they were never married, while the deduction usually goes to the CP, that is not always the case.