Can you claim child support on taxes?
Not at all. This is all because child support payments are neither taxable income to the payee nor deductible by the payer and therefore cannot at all be claimed. The only thing you claim from the government is the itemized or standard deductions which everyone is allowed to deduct for the purpose of feeding your kids and it’s usually done before paying your taxes. However, child support payments are not part of these deductions. It’s on record that there are no additional child support creditor deductions that anyone can claim from his taxes since they are not considered taxable income.
If I owe back child support will they take my taxes?
Yes, they will. It’s a fact that if you have child support arrears the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) will take your tax refund as a means of covering the arrears. This is generally referred as a tax refund seizure. After this, IRS will then give this money to the relevant child support agency. Additionally, this is normally possible if the state child support enforcement office comes to get the arrears from the parent who owes the funds. However, if the child support enforcement office doesn’t take part in coming to collect the money from you, a petition can be taken to the court so that it can request the money to be collected in this manner.
Why is child support not taxable?
The logic behind the child support fee not being taxable to the recipient was to ensure that there is no direct advantage in offering support to one’s own child whether they live apart or together. Tax is normally paid on the money someone earns. On the other hand, child support is the money received on behalf of kids. Therefore you don’t pay tax for it. Any funds you receive as child support do not at all count towards your taxable income and importantly you will not pay state or federal taxes on it. In a nutshell, the US government does not consider child support to be a form of taxable income.
Can a non-custodial parent claim a child is behind on child support?
When it comes to claiming your child, there are usually two types of dependents that determine this. The qualifying relative and importantly the qualifying child. Even if you pay full child support for the kid, if you don’t have custody of the kid for half the days on the year, the law can’t at all allow you to claim the kid as a qualifying child dependent. This can only be possible if and only if the custodial parent allows you to sign form 8332 which basically releases the exemption of dependence to you. Additionally, sometimes the legal court can issue orders that the custodial parent has to sign the form so that both parents can share the financial arrangements of the kid. If you are the non-custodial parent of the child who offers full support for the kid, without form 8332 you have no right or ability to claim the child as qualifying child dependent.
If you would like to further your education on child support. Please check out my article on the misuse of child support payments here