Form 8332 is a form that each year seems to cause some poor taxpayer a fit. In the past the IRS would except divorce papers to determine who could claim the child in any given tax year. After 2008 this all changed. The IRS now requires that form 8332 be used for this purpose. The IRS has in the past denied exemptions for other substitute forms of the 8832 so bottom line is get an 8332.
What does the 8332 do???? The 8332 does not provide the person claiming the child the earned Income credit but the noncustodial parent will be entitled to the Child Tax Credit or the new dependent credit and possibly other tax benefits that goes with the claiming parent……… but wait the court says I get to claim every other year……….. Do you have an 8332? …… well no but the court says I can claim this year….. Well I’m sorry you can’t do it without the 8332.
Ok here we go I got the 8332…….say how come I don’t get the EIC….. Well that benefit goes to the custodial parent but the court says I get them every other year……. Well the EIC stays with the custodial parent.
What’s the custodial parent? A child’s custodial parent is the parent who has custody of the child for the greater portion of the year. Generally this is the parent with whom the child spends the greater number of nights during the year. This is also the parent that all the school records and doctor records are tied to. Sometimes the courts will even name this individual specifically in the divorce papers.
So who gets what? The Custodial parent always gets the child & dependent care credit, the earned income credit, Head of household status and exclusion of employer provided dependent care assistance. The non-custodial parent with an 8332 form gets the child tax credit, additional child tax credit or the dependency credit.
If the custodial parent won’t give this form to you then you may have to make a call to your lawyer because without this form there is not much the Tax Preparer can do for you. Sometimes Tax law & Civil law just don’t play well together. Unfortunately this little scenario happens more than you think. Not all divorces are amicable so getting this form signed for the current year and future years at the time of divorce is important…… but the custodial parent also has a right to revoke it so that’s a story for another day.
The 8332 must be attached to the return or mailed within 3 days of the IRS’s acceptance of the return. For more information on this subject contact your Tax Pro or check the IRS website for more information and save yourself a big problem.
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