I pay child support. Why can’t I claim my child as a dependent?
This is one of the more misunderstood issues of taxation. PAYING CHILD SUPPORT DOES NOT MAKE THAT CHILD YOUR DEPENDENT! Generally, the custodial parent (the parent with whom the child lives) gets to claim the child as a dependent.
The custodial parent may give permission for the other parent to claim the dependent but a special form must be submitted to the IRS for this purpose. Call BTS or link to the irs.gov link on the BTS web-site.
