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watsoncarter · Dec 11, 2008, 01:28 AM

We have been together for 9 years now,and my sons sperm donor claims him every year.We are not married,but have been together for 9 years and she is the residential parent. My son sees his "person" every tues. and thurs. 5-8 and every other weekend."person" has been court ordered to pay @$70 a week. Needless to say is constantly behind. Can anyone explain to me why I should not be able to claim my son when mom doesn't work and I am sole provider?:confused:

stevetcg · Dec 11, 2008, 05:01 AM

Because technically you are not the sole provider. The bio doner is providing (in theory) for his support.

The simple solution is to have your girlfriend go to court and have his dependency claim assigned to her. She can then allow you to claim him as a dependent. I am able to claim my girlfriend's son for just this reason.

danielnoahsmommy · Dec 11, 2008, 05:09 AM

I'm sorry, you let this go on for now 10 years. You provide more than 50% of your child's support and therefore you have a right to claim the child. Unless you had an agreement with the other parent.

stevetcg · Dec 11, 2008, 06:35 AM

Quoted from Cadallac59 in another thread:

A motion to modify child support requesting an order on who gets the dependency exemption is all you need. Whoever has the kids greater than 50% of the time gets the dependency exemption as a matter of law unless there is a release, which can be voluntary or ordered by the court. If you have a true 50-50 split on custody, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) gets the dependency exemptions unless there is a release.

To me, this means that your girlfriend should be able to claim the kid and not her ex. If the exemption is hers, she can allow you to claim the child as your dependent. IMO, she should get to court and have this put in writing. If not, and the ex claims the child anyway, he will win in the eyes of the IRS because of biology.

JudyKayTee · Dec 11, 2008, 08:00 AM

Originally Posted by watsoncarter

We have been together for 9 years now,and my sons sperm donor claims him every year.We are not married,but have been together for 9 years and she is the residential parent. My son sees his "person" every tues. and thurs. 5-8 and every other weekend."person" has been court ordered to pay @$70 a week. Needless to say is constantly behind. Can anyone explain to me why I should not be able to claim my son when mom doesn't work and I am sole provider?:confused:

Go back to Court to enforce child support and while you're there ask the Court to solve the tax problem.

cadillac59 · Dec 11, 2008, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by stevetcg

Quoted from Cadallac59 in another thread:

A motion to modify child support requesting an order on who gets the dependency exemption is all you need. Whoever has the kids greater than 50% of the time gets the dependency exemption as a matter of law unless there is a release, which can be voluntary or ordered by the court. If you have a true 50-50 split on custody, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) gets the dependency exemptions unless there is a release.

To me, this means that your girlfriend should be able to claim the kid and not her ex. If the exemption is hers, she can allow you to claim the child as your dependent. IMO, she should get to court and have this put in writing. If not, and the ex claims the child anyway, he will win in the eyes of the IRS because of biology.

I'm flattered to be quoted like that.:)

Like I said the rule on dependency exemptions is easy: the high time (50+%) parent get the exemption as a matter of law unless it's released (there's a form you use for the release, I think its IRS form 8223; I believe it is no longer mandatory but a good idea to use anyway). The court can order a release if it look like it's good for everyone tax-wise but cannot order a tax filing status (like HH/MLA, Joint, Single, MFS). If the timeshare is a true 50-50 split then the dependency exemption goes to the parent with the higher AGI. That's all there is to it.

LovingMother23 · Sep 29, 2011, 12:26 PM

I am in a similar situation, and also used to be a tax professional. Legally you are not supposed to claim a child on your income tax return unless the child lives with you more than 50% of the year, and you provide more than 50% of their support. In some cases a custody/support or divorce order will appoint an 'every other year' rule where you will take turns claiming the child. Obviously this man shouldn't be claiming the child. If he is, she should be fighting it, not sitting by for 10 years and allowing it to happen. Take him to court, and file the taxes claiming the son. The IRS will contact you to determine who's return is false and who's is correct. Good luck.

cdad · Sep 29, 2011, 01:15 PM

Originally Posted by LovingMother23

I am in a similar situation, and also used to be a tax professional. Legally you are not supposed to claim a child on your income tax return unless the child lives with you more than 50% of the year, and you provide more than 50% of their support. In some cases a custody/support or divorce order will appoint an 'every other year' rule where you will take turns claiming the child. Obviously this man shouldnt be claiming the child. If he is, she should be fighting it, not sitting by for 10 years and allowing it to happen. Take him to court, and file the taxes claiming the son. The IRS will contact you to determine who's return is false and who's is correct. Good luck.

Please watch the dates when posting answers. A lot has changed since 2008. Also its not up to the OP to take the bio father to court as he has no legal standing to do so. Also based upon what has been said the bio father is providing more then 50% of the child's monatary needs as the mother of the child does not work therefore she has no real income of her own. The only income is from that of the husband.