Would it benefit me to let my ex claim our son to catch up on back child support?

[1113troland]

My ex is bullying me to let him claim our son on his taxes this year. Our son lives with me full time. My ex owes a lot in back child support and is facing possible jail time. He says that this will benefit me as I will receive his back support owed therefore getting more back for taxes. Wouldn't I get less back because I wouldn't be claiming him? Wouldn't I initially be paying myself his back support owed?

[Bsch4477]

There’s no benefit to you by letting your ex claim him. 

[xmasbaby0]

If your ex is not the custodial parent, he is not the one who can legally claim the child.   The custodial parent can claim the child.   If you allow him to claim your child to get a bigger refund, what assurance do you have that the refund will go to you?   Is there a court order-----will his refund be seized for the back child support?   Then will you wait for the court/local support enforcement agency to send it to you --- months later?   

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.  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.

Sounds like your ex is trying to gaslight you into something that might make things tougher for you.   We, of course, have no information regarding how much he earned from working---so we cannot know how much he would receive for child-related credits like the earned income credit, refundable additional child tax credit, etc. or how much he had withheld from his paychecks that would provide him with a refund that could be offset by the IRS and sent to you.  We do not know if there is already an offset order in place that will mean his refund will be seized for child support.    If he did not work much, then he would not get much of a tax refund.  The child-related credits are based on how much you earn from working.   

I think you should simply abide by the rules, obey the tax laws, and claim your own son.

[Opus 17]

It sounds like your ex is saying that if he claims the child, he will get a larger refund, which will be confiscated by the state, and sent to you as child support.  So you get the same in the end, but his debt counts as partly paid off.  That does not sound like a financially sound arrangement.

Of course, we don't know your tax situation.  If you are in a situation where you get very little of the child tax credit or EITC (because you have very little income earned from working), he might get a larger credit, that would be passed on to you.  So maybe it kind of makes sense.  But if you earn enough to get the full refundable child tax credit, there does not seem to be much benefit to allowing him to claim it instead.