Hal_Al
Level 15

Deductions & credits

Maybe

The general rule is that a taxpayer must actually make the payment (as well as be legally liable to pay it) to get the deduction. However, I've heard of a  tax court ruling that seems to say that you can take the deduction even if the other parent was the one that actually paid it, under the theory that his paying the expense is just another form of child support and it was your money that paid for it.