a custody agreement is worthless from an income tax perspective. the tax laws say only the custodial parent can claim the dependent unless they furnish the non-custodial parent with a signed and dated form 8332 (for 2021). the non-custodial parent must include the form with their income tax return. to enable the NC parent to e-file, form 8332 can be mailed in with form 8453 while the rest of the return can be e-filed. be sure to read the filing instructions for form 8453 once the 2021 forms are available.
