Since the tax deadline of April 15th is only one month away, it is a good time to review common tax issues that come up in most divorces. Who can claim the children as dependents during and after a divorce? The general answer is that the parent who has residential custody of the children can claim the children as dependents for tax purposes unless there is a written agreement or Court Order that states otherwise. Frequently the parties reach an agreement about claiming the children as dependents, and that agreement is contained in the Final Judgment of Divorce and Property Settlement Agreement. The most common agreement is to share the exemptions as long as there are no arrears due for child support.

Can I claim alimony that I am paying to my ex-spouse as a deduction on my taxes? Generally, alimony payments are tax deductible to the spouse paying the alimony and count as income for the spouse who is receiving the alimony. The Court Order does need to specify that the payment being made is alimony for it to be deductible or to count as income. If the Order does not specify which portion of a payment is alimony and which portion is child support, the payment is considered to be child support. It is important that the agreement or final Court Order specifies which portion of a support payment is allocated as alimony.