If im getting money from the father of my children, how do i enter that as income?

[staciepeters72]

i get $400 every two weeks from his paycheck

[NCperson]

@staciepeters72 you don't add that as income.  child support is not reported on your tax return; you don't pay tax on it, 

[VolvoGirl]

What is it?  Child Support or Alimony?  Or....?  You don't enter Child Support.   You might need to enter Alimony if your divorce was before 2018.  

[NCperson]

@VolvoGirl before 1.1.19  - not prior to 2018 😀

[VolvoGirl]

 I knew 2018 was in there.....executed by December 31, 2018

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/spouse-partner/need-report-alimony-recei...

[staciepeters72]

It’s not any of those. We came to an agreement. And 400 comes out of his paycheck and goes into my account 

[staciepeters72]

It’s not child support. It’s just what we agreed on. It comes out of his account and gets deposited into mine

[rjs]

Is your agreement in writing?

In one post you said the money "comes out of his paycheck" and in another post you said it "comes out of his account." Which is it? How exactly does the money get into your bank account? Does his employer deposit it directly to your bank account, or does the father set up a transfer from his bank account to yours?

Depending on your answers, there may be more questions.

[staciepeters72]

so he set it up so that on payday it goes directly into my account. 

[xmasbaby0]

You do not enter child support on a tax return.  It is not taxable, nor is it considered to be earned income for any child-related credits.   It is not deductible for the parent who is paying the child support.

[NCperson]

@staciepeters72 

it is not taxable!

if there was a divorce degree after 2018, it would not be taxable

if it were child support it would not be taxable

if he is doing it out ofthe goodness of his heart (which effectively he is doing), it is a gift and not taxable

[Hal_Al]

The money you describe is not taxable or reportable income.  It is also not "earned income" for the purposes of qualifying for  the Earned Income Credit (EIC) and/or the Additional (refundable) Child Tax Credit (ACTC). 

As others have said, the only exception would be  if it qualifies as pre 2019 Alimony.  Even then, it is not earned income for the EIC or ACTC.