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Proposed New W4 form

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livinmybestlife

Active Member
Hello,

I read in another thread about a proposed new w-4 form and I went to take a look at it. One of the sections discusses claiming dependants. My ex-husband and I share custody of our daughter, but I have her way more than half the year. Our court orders state that I have to fill out for 8332 each year for tax purposes. When I go to fill this out next year, it will be my year to claim our daughter. But in the following year, knowing that I will be filling out 8332, would I list 1 child in section 3, or 0 children.

Thank you in advance for your time
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
There will be time enough to worry about proposed forms when we know what the final version says. In any case, you can always file a new W-4 at the beginning of a new year if the former one is not accurate any longer,
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
This really has little to do with the new W4 forms. If the court order says you have to give up the child tax credit (there's no longer an exemption), then you need to take that into account when computing your withholding. As a result, you'd pretend you didn't have the child on the W-4 calculations.
 

livinmybestlife

Active Member
Thank you again for your responses. This is the language from our court order. What would I do in this case since there no longer is an exemption? Does form 8332 still apply?

"J. DEPENDENCY EXEMPTIONS

Mother and Father agree that they shall alternate claiming the minor child as a dependent on his/her federal and state income tax returns, with Mother claiming Hailey in even numbered years and Father claiming Hailey in odd numbered years.

The parties shall take whatever action is necessary to enable the other to claim the child as a dependent for income tax purposes in accordance with the order of the court, including but not limited to executing any documents necessary including IRS Form 8332."
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Thank you again for your responses. This is the language from our court order. What would I do in this case since there no longer is an exemption? Does form 8332 still apply?

"J. DEPENDENCY EXEMPTIONS

Mother and Father agree that they shall alternate claiming the minor child as a dependent on his/her federal and state income tax returns, with Mother claiming Hailey in even numbered years and Father claiming Hailey in odd numbered years.

The parties shall take whatever action is necessary to enable the other to claim the child as a dependent for income tax purposes in accordance with the order of the court, including but not limited to executing any documents necessary including IRS Form 8332."
The child tax credit went along with the dependency deduction so the non-custodial parent can still claim the child tax credit, therefore the 8332 still applies.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Thank you again for your responses. This is the language from our court order. What would I do in this case since there no longer is an exemption? Does form 8332 still apply?

"J. DEPENDENCY EXEMPTIONS

Mother and Father agree that they shall alternate claiming the minor child as a dependent on his/her federal and state income tax returns, with Mother claiming Hailey in even numbered years and Father claiming Hailey in odd numbered years.

The parties shall take whatever action is necessary to enable the other to claim the child as a dependent for income tax purposes in accordance with the order of the court, including but not limited to executing any documents necessary including IRS Form 8332."
If that is the quote from the entire section in the decree then in the years that the noncustodial parent would get the benefit of dependent related tax benefits he or she would still need the Form 8332, and under that order the custodial parent would be obligated to provide it. Note that the order specifies "in order to claim the child as a dependent" not "in order to claim the dependent child exemption." More benefits than just the tax exemption rely on whether a kid is dependent, and your order appears to have been skillfully drafted to recognize that.
 

livinmybestlife

Active Member
That's very helpful and yes, that is the whole section. Thank you both for your responses. I do have one follow up though if that's okay...

The fact that the wording is "to claim the child as a dependent" does not change anything with regards to HOH or any other benefits that are applied because of having our daughter more than 50% of the time? Right?
 

davew9128

Junior Member
If that is the quote from the entire section in the decree then in the years that the noncustodial parent would get the benefit of dependent related tax benefits he or she would still need the Form 8332, and under that order the custodial parent would be obligated to provide it. Note that the order specifies "in order to claim the child as a dependent" not "in order to claim the dependent child exemption." More benefits than just the tax exemption rely on whether a kid is dependent, and your order appears to have been skillfully drafted to recognize that.
And it was only last week that Tax Court once again ruled in favor of the IRS where the non-custodial parent tried to use a divorce decree to claim a dependency exemption. The taxpayer literally argued "that he was not aware, when he agreed to the modification of the parenting time schedule in December 2009 (providing that AS would reside with him for less than one-half of the calendar year), that “the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] would come up with a new rule to redefine who’s a custodial parent.” Of course the law was the same then as it is now...
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
Hello,

I read in another thread about a proposed new w-4 form and I went to take a look at it. One of the sections discusses claiming dependants. My ex-husband and I share custody of our daughter, but I have her way more than half the year. Our court orders state that I have to fill out for 8332 each year for tax purposes. When I go to fill this out next year, it will be my year to claim our daughter. But in the following year, knowing that I will be filling out 8332, would I list 1 child in section 3, or 0 children.

Thank you in advance for your time
Actually in 2020 dad will be claiming her for the 2019 tax year. So you need to realize that... filing taxes in 2020 is about what happened in 2019. Hence, HE gets the deduction.
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
Our court orders state that I have to fill out for 8332 each year for tax purposes.

(Bolding added.) By the way, you have that wrong. If you are the custodial parent then you only need to provide the Form 8332 to the noncustodial parent for those years in which your ex-husband is entitled to claim the tax benefits related to the kid being a dependent. You do not want to give him the Form 8332 in the years that you get to take all the tax benefits for the kid because the whole purpose of the Form 8332 is to give those benefits to the non custodial parent. In short, you're going to be providing him a Form 8332 only every other year.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
That's very helpful and yes, that is the whole section. Thank you both for your responses. I do have one follow up though if that's okay...

The fact that the wording is "to claim the child as a dependent" does not change anything with regards to HOH or any other benefits that are applied because of having our daughter more than 50% of the time? Right?
Tax attributes related to children that the custodial parent can still claim, even if the non-custodial parents is claiming the child are:

Head of Household status
Earned Income Credit
Daycare Credits

Tax attributes related to the children that the non-custodial parent is allows to claim on the years they get to claim the child as a dependent are:

Child Tax Credit
Education Credits (for college aged children)
 

livinmybestlife

Active Member
(Bolding added.) By the way, you have that wrong. If you are the custodial parent then you only need to provide the Form 8332 to the noncustodial parent for those years in which your ex-husband is entitled to claim the tax benefits related to the kid being a dependent. You do not want to give him the Form 8332 in the years that you get to take all the tax benefits for the kid because the whole purpose of the Form 8332 is to give those benefits to the non custodial parent. In short, you're going to be providing him a Form 8332 only every other year.
Thank you. I meant to say each year that he is eligible to claim her.
 

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