If I no Longer Pay Child Support but Pay for College Can I Claim the Child as a Dependent for Taxes?
Full Question:
I have a 21 yr old daughter how has 1 year to go in college. My court order for support has educational coverage's well as child support but the child support has not stated end date. I have 2 other younger children (1 in college, 1 in HS) I would like to remove my 21 yr old child from the child support order and continue the educational support. From the code I've read this sounds correct but I haven't seen this exact situation explained. Assuming I can modify my support order as described does that have any bearing on the her being able to be claimed as a dependent for tax purposes. The order is clear on who can claim as a dependent but I'm unsure if removing her from the child support calculation has any bearing on her status as a dependent. Please confirm if this my understanding is correct and if she is removed from the child support order can she still be claimed as a dependent.
06/29/2010 |
Category: Taxes |
State: Indiana |
#22507
Answer:
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows an individual to take a tax deduction for each qualifying child or other relative he/she supports. The IRS has very specific definitions of who qualifies as a dependent for tax purposes. A person can claim one deduction for each dependent he/she has. A dependent must not have provided more than half of her own support for the year .
Please see the qualifying child information at the following link to determine applicability:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf