Do irs rules trump district court judge rulings? I'm the custodial parent and the judge ruled my ex wife could claim her every other year because she pays child support.

[allenchrisman76]

Do I have to follow the district court ruling? Or do tax laws carry more weight?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

Yes, you have to follow the court order.

But, yes, IRS rules carry more weight with the IRS. That is, if you both try to claim the child, the IRS will rule in your favor. They will not honor a court order, dated after 2009.

Her only remedy is to take you back to court. Where the judge will decide, including, but not limited to, making you pay back what she lost and maybe even throwing you in jail for contempt.

This may be helpful in your negotiations with the ex:

 There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status, and day care credit. This "splitting of the child" is not available to parents who lived together at any time during the last 6 months of the year; then only one of you can claim the child for any tax reasons. The tax benefits may not be split in any other manner.

Note in particular that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit, based on that child, even when the custodial parent has released the exemption to him. The court cannot give her those tax items in a court order,

 So, it's good idea to let the other parent know that you will be claiming those items, as many first time divorced parents are not aware of this rule and may try to claim those items, which will cause the IRS to send out letters.

[Critter]

If you have a court order requiring you to let the non custodial parent claim the child then you must comply or be in contempt of court. Complete  & deliver the form 8332 as directed by the court to stay out of jail. 

IRS rules on custody ...

The parent with whom the child lives more than half the year (184 or more 184 nights for 2016) is automatically entitled to claim the child as a dependent. This is the custodial parent. (IRS determines custody based on where the child lives, not any court order or agreement.)  The non-custodial parent is not entitled to claim anything.

However, the custodial parent can sign a release (form 8332) allowing the non-custodial parent to claim the child as a dependent.  You can download this form from the IRS web site.  The custodial parent signs it and gives it to the non-custodial parent and the non-custodial parent mails it to the IRS after e-filing the rest of their tax return.  

In this case, the non-custodial parent can claim the dependent exemption and the child tax credit.  The non-custodial parent can never claim earned income credit, the dependent care credit (day care credit) or use the child to qualify for head of household status.  Those benefits always stay with the custodial parent.

[Opus 17]

If you are the custodial parent, the IRS will follow its own rules only, and allow you to claim the exemption every year -- except for certain qualifying custody orders filed in 2008 or earlier as also described in the IRS rules.  But, your local family court can issue an order directing you sign certain forms or face a contempt charge or other penalties.