I was divorced in 2010, and have made monthly child support payments to my ex-spouse since the divorce was final. May I claim that child that is in his/her custody as my dependent for tax purposes?
For tax purposes the custodial parent is assumed to be deserving of the dependency deduction for the child, barring documentation to the contrary. That documentation would include a stipulation in the divorce decree granting the deduction to the non-custodial parent for any specified years (e.g. “all years”, “all odd-numbered years”, etc.). However timely child support payments are required and more than 50% of the child’s support must be supplied by both parents combined. In addition the custodial parent may allow the non-custodial parent to claim the child for tax purposes by supplying a signed form 8332 to the non-custodial parent. The form 8332 must be attached to the tax return for successful claiming of the dependent child not in the taxpayer’s custody. For divorce decrees effective before 2009 ertinent pages of the divorce decree (cover page, page describing the non-custodial parent’s right to the deduction for the child, and signed signature page) may also be used to verify the
