Does a court order on who gets to claim a dependent supercede any other rules or tax laws?

[joann44]

No, it doesn't actually have any effect on tax laws.  The IRS has their own rules and generally for their purposes a court order won't sway a decision about claiming a child.  However, and this isn't insignificant, if someone is under court order to allow another party to claim the child and doesn't do so then that person is in contempt of court.  Judges generally don't like it when individuals fail to follow their orders, so while the sanction for this varies widely - it is far from no big deal. 

In practical terms what this means is that if the wrong party claims a dependent, the place to take that up is in the court where the order was issued and not at the IRS.  

[Mike9241]

should the court grant the non-custodial parent the right to claim the dependent. in order for them to properly file his/her federal taxes and claim the dependent they are supposed to obtain form the custodial parent a signed form 8332.  that has to be included with their 1040 which thus would require mailing.  the alternative is to use form 8453 so the 1040 can be e-filed and then the 8453 and 8332 are mailed according to the 8453 instructions.