Your W-4 is a document that is only given to your employer to indicate to the employer how much tax to withhold from your paycheck. Your W-4 does not go to the IRS, nor does it have any bearing at all on whether you can claim a dependent when you file your tax return.
The custodial parent does not "have" to sign a Form 8332 unless a court ordered the custodial parent to sign it. It can be voluntary.
Some information on what a Form 8332 means:
Are you the custodial parent? Do you have an agreement with the other parent to allow the other parent to claim them--due to divorce or that you live apart and share custody? Did one of you sign a Form 8332?
If there is a signed 8332 then the custodial parent retains the right to file as Head of Household, get earned income credit and the childcare credit + education credits if the child is a full-time college student. The non-custodial parent gets the child tax credit for children under the age of 17.
As far as the IRS is concerned, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child spent the most nights during the tax year--at least 183 nights.
And....child support is not deductible.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
