Federal Income Taxes: Waiving the Tax Exemption for Children in Divorce
Posted Jan 29, 2014
The primary or custodial parent, defined as the parent who has the child the majority of overnights in a calendar year, can waive the federal income tax exemption to permit the other, noncustodial parent to claim the exemption for the child. Determining who should actually claim the child or children is typically memorialized in a court order such as an order of child support.
IRS Form 8332 (“Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption by Custodial Parent”) allows the custodial parent to waive the exemption. The waiver is signed by the custodial parent and attached to the tax return of the noncustodial parent. The waiver should be made annually should circumstances change in the future such as a modification action.