Can Child Support Be Claimed As Income on Income Taxes?
When a family parts ways it is a difficult situation. During tax time things can become complicated as you may not know how to file your taxes, given your situation. If you know what counts as income and what does not it can make tax time a little easier.
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Child Support
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Child support does not count as income nor can it be deducted by the person who pays the support. If you claim your child as a dependent and she has a job and earns income, you do not include child support in your child's income. There are no cases where child support is considered taxable income, the IRS reports.
What if I Receive Alimony and Child Support?
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If you receive both alimony and child support, you must determine how much support is allotted to child support and how much support is allotted to alimony. In some cases, a divorce agreement lists two separate payments, one for child support and one for alimony. In other situations, an agreement may just list a single payment for family support. In that case, you will have to determine the amount of family support allotted for child support and the amount allotted for alimony.
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Child Support or Alimony?
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The portion of your family support payment that is child support is reduced when certain events occur. Examples of these events are your child reaching the age of majority, when he leaves school, when he gets married, when he obtains employment or when he leaves the home. If the support payment is reduced when your child gets married or six months before he turns 18, it is considered a child support payment, according to the IRS.
Example
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You receive $2,200 per month in support for you and one child. The amount goes down to $1,500 when your child graduates from college as you no longer receive support for him at that point. The amount of support you are receiving in alimony is $1,500 and the amount of child support you are receiving is $700. The $700 does not count as taxable income but the $1,500 in alimony must be counted in your gross income.
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References
- Photo Credit Form 1040 Tax Forms image by Viola Joyner from Fotolia.com
