Tax Question

[WittyUserName]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

Am in process of a divorce, and last week at our case management hearing it became very clear that tax-related questions are not something that attorneys for either side are well-versed in. Nor, as it happens, was the presiding Master up to date either. Dad and I are headed to mediation to try to hash out some of the outstanding issues, and I am trying to come up with a solution for how to frame the tax issues.

The situation:

• Dad and I are in agreement on joint custody, with a 50/50 timeshare. We're doing a 2/2/3 schedule, and it's working well.
• Dad makes about 64% of our joint income, I make 36%, so he's got a bit more income coming in.
• In Nevada, child care is not typically included in the CS calculation; Dad and I split that cost 50/50 and each pay our share directly to the provider.
• I qualify for the EIC; Dad does not, as he's above the income threshold.
• Dad does not get the deduction for either of his older children. I have an older daughter who lives with me, so I get the HOH filing status even though her father gets to claim her as dependent and for the child tax credit.

I used the information in this thread: https://forum.freeadvice.com/child-support-98/claiming-dependent-thread-550767.html
as a starting point. The current proposal is that Dad and I alternate years in which we claim the exemption and child tax credit. Which seems fairly easy...the trouble comes when I start trying to discuss EIC/HOH/Day care credit, which is another issue entirely.

My thought, because the IRS will only care about who has the child the most overnights, is that our schedule is so close that maybe we could switch these each year by merely making slight changes to the schedule. If theoretically, each year one of us has 182 nights and the other has 183, then it would seem easy. And I would have no problem giving up a few nights in a calendar year for the years that for whatever reason don't come out exactly right on the calendar. Dad, however, is not understanding, his attorney thinks I'm trying to pull something, and the IRS information tends to be dense and hard to read....so I thought I would put it to the group: am I overthinking this? I want to be fair, and to have a workable, easy to follow court order.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Nevada

Am in process of a divorce, and last week at our case management hearing it became very clear that tax-related questions are not something that attorneys for either side are well-versed in. Nor, as it happens, was the presiding Master up to date either. Dad and I are headed to mediation to try to hash out some of the outstanding issues, and I am trying to come up with a solution for how to frame the tax issues.

The situation:

• Dad and I are in agreement on joint custody, with a 50/50 timeshare. We're doing a 2/2/3 schedule, and it's working well.
• Dad makes about 64% of our joint income, I make 36%, so he's got a bit more income coming in.
• In Nevada, child care is not typically included in the CS calculation; Dad and I split that cost 50/50 and each pay our share directly to the provider.
• I qualify for the EIC; Dad does not, as he's above the income threshold.
• Dad does not get the deduction for either of his older children. I have an older daughter who lives with me, so I get the HOH filing status even though her father gets to claim her as dependent and for the child tax credit.

I used the information in this thread: https://forum.freeadvice.com/child-support-98/claiming-dependent-thread-550767.html
as a starting point. The current proposal is that Dad and I alternate years in which we claim the exemption and child tax credit. Which seems fairly easy...the trouble comes when I start trying to discuss EIC/HOH/Day care credit, which is another issue entirely.

My thought, because the IRS will only care about who has the child the most overnights, is that our schedule is so close that maybe we could switch these each year by merely making slight changes to the schedule. If theoretically, each year one of us has 182 nights and the other has 183, then it would seem easy. And I would have no problem giving up a few nights in a calendar year for the years that for whatever reason don't come out exactly right on the calendar. Dad, however, is not understanding, his attorney thinks I'm trying to pull something, and the IRS information tends to be dense and hard to read....so I thought I would put it to the group: am I overthinking this? I want to be fair, and to have a workable, easy to follow court order.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

No, you are not over thinking it. However, because there are only an even number of days in leap year, and even then holidays might unbalance it in leap years, in every year one of you is going to have the children more than the other.

Recent tax court case law indicates that even one day matters for EIC, daycare credits and HOH.

I suggest for simplicity's sake that you do every other year for the tax exemptions, and that in the year that its yours, you get an extra week in the summer, and the year that its his, he gets an extra week in the summer. Problem solved.