Can I Claim My Son Who Does Not Live With Me Without Form 8332?

Can I Claim My Son Who Does Not Live With Me Without Form 8332?

During my divorce proceedings, I was granted the right to claim my son as a dependent.  I was granted this right despite the fact my ex-wife is the custodial parent.  I went to a national tax shop with a court order in my pocket to have my taxes prepared.  I ran into a problem. My tax preparer stated that he needs the form 8332 to send in with my return.  The form 8332 is a form used to identify that a custodial parent releases custody of a child to a noncustodial parent. I immediately told him that I have a court order to claim my son, and that I am e-filing.   I am not filing by mail.  It should not be a problem.  I have a powerful local court order and that I was going to e-file my return.  He stated that I needed the form 8332 to claim my son.  He said, “Well, it is not a problem, we can fax your wife the form and she can fax it back.” When I get the form, we can e-file your return and I will send in the form 8332 with another form to associate it with your tax return.  He sounded so knowledgeable.  My God, I have a court order.  I called my wife.  She was no chance and she said, “My lost and fat chance.”  I told him that I will be taking my services elsewhere because my wife lip surgery deduction might not be allowed at his tax shop.  Can you help me Mr. Taxman? Is there anything that I can do because I do not want my friends to get a signature for me?  It is my right. I have a court order.

Before you call up your friends to iron things out, it is a good chance that your court order will suffice as a substitute for form 8332. Your order has to state the same things that the form 8332 does plus be signed by your wife.   The court order must state the following to be a substitute.

1.     You can unconditionally claim your son as your dependent,

2.     The other parent will not claim your son as her dependent

3.     The years in which the claim is released

If you have that information, you can send in a copy of the cover page of the court order that includes the custodial parent’s social security number, the pages that include the information above, and a signature page with the custodial parent’s signature and the date of agreement.

My daughter moved in with her kids and I want to claim the kids. Can I do it?

If the child does not provide over half his or her support, the parent has the right to claim their children over all other relatives. However, the parent can grant the grandmother the right to claim his or her child.

I make over 400K how can I benefit from the earned income credit?

If you have a working relative in your household, they might be able to claim you child and benefit from the dependent exemption, earned income credit, and child tax credit.  Here is an example below.


Adam and his wife Dorothy live with their 16-year-old daughter Ann and their 23-year-old son
John in the family house. Adam and Dorothy have AGI in excess of $400,000. Ann is in high
school and does not provide more than 50% of her own support. John is not a full-time student
and earns $15,000 in wages while living in the family home. Adam and Dorothy file a joint
return and are eligible to claim Ann as a qualifying child, but would receive little benefit from
claiming a dependency exemption deduction for her because their AGI is above the phase-out
level.


John can claim Ann as his qualifying child on his return if Adam and Dorothy elect
not to claim her. Ann meets the tests to be treated as John’s qualifying child. If John claims
his sister as a dependent, he will qualify for the $3,800 personal exemption for her, a $1,000
child tax credit because Ann is under age 17, and approximately $2,700 in refundable
earned income credit (EIC). When considering the income tax savings of the dependency
exemption, having John claim Ann’s dependency exemption has saved the family almost
$4,200 in tax.

The important facts in this case are that the older child (John) claiming the younger child
resides in the same household, and the older child cannot be a qualifying child of the
parents if he or she is going to claim a dependency exemption or earned income credit (EIC)
for the younger sibling (IRC Secs. 32(c)(1)(B) and 152(b)(1)). Thus, this strategy worked
because John was not a full-time student under age 24. Also, the older child must have
earned income in order to claim the EIC and the younger child must be under age 17 for the
$1,000 child tax credit to apply.

I can be reached at 404 645 5378.  I can prepare you return virtually.  You can scan your information and I can send you copy of your return by email.  I only ask for you cost to file up front.  Yes, tax software cost money.