This is a common question at tax time. In most instances in New Port Richey and elsewhere in Pasco County, the parent who gets to claim the children for income tax purposes will be listed in the divorce decree.
If the divorce decree is silent on the issue, normally the parent with whom the child spends the most number of nights during the year is the one who gets to take the deduction.
In some cases, the exemption may only benefit one parent, and in that case it is possible to change who takes the exemption by filling out a form with the IRS.
If your custody arrangement is later modified, the person who gets to claim the exemption is still the person listed in the divorce decree, unless it has been changed. If it’s not in the divorce decree, the custodial parent for that filing year is the one who gets to take the exemption.
If you don’t agree with the current tax arrangement, you have a couple of choices. You can either reach an agreement privately with your spouse about who will get to claim the kids each year. This is the best way to solve the issue.
If you two can’t agree, you will need to go back to court. In some cases, the court costs and attorney’s fees will make taking the case to court more expensive than the value you will be obtaining from the income tax exemption, especially if your child is older and is close to no longer being able to be claimed on your tax return anyway.
If one spouse would not benefit at all from claiming the child on his or her tax refund, but is entitled to claim the child, that spouse may work out an arrangement with the other spouse to give up the exemption for that particular year. The spouse who is giving up that right may ask for financial compensation in exchange for allowing the other spouse to use the exemption.