Alimony third party Payment

[cseals10]

I have a divorce decree in 2018, that includes alimony as a deduction to income. IN my divorce decree, I am responsible for 67% of my Childs college tuition and my ex-spouse is responsible for 33%. However in 2019, my ex-spouse did not pay any monies toward college tuition and I had to pay it all to keep my son in school. Can I deduct the $9,000 that I paid toward tuition that was my EX responsibility, as a third party payment and include it in the alimony deduction. 

Thanks. 

[Hal_Al]

No. Alimony is a specific identification item.  Extra tuition is just another form of child support and is not deductible. 

Side note: if your ex gets to claim the child as a dependent, she also gets to claim the tuition you paid to claim the education credit. 

[macuser_22]

You can only claim tuition if you can claim the child as a dependent.  If you are not the custodial parent (where the child physically lived more than half of 2019) or have a signed 8332 form** releasing the dependent to you then you cannot claim the child or tuition.

**the 8332 form only applies to a minor child that has not become an adult in your state (age 18 in most states).  After then then the child must have lived with you to claim.