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Cild Support Payments part 2

Should child support parents and joint custody parents be allowed tax deductions?

  • Only Joint custody parents should be allowed a half child deduction each.

    Votes: 1 11.1%

  • Only child support paying parents should be allowed a deduction.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Both the above should be allowed

    Votes: 3 33.3%

  • Neither should be allowed

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Not enough variable/information to give an accurate vote

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Who cares?

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Total voters
    9
maquiscat

maquiscat

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The thread reminded me of something I had thought of years ago and I want to see where opinions lie here.

Should a non custody parent or both joint custody parents be allowed to write off their child support payments as a deduction or in the later case each take a half child deduction?

Edit: For option 2 note that it is not supposed to imply that the parent with custody doesn't get their normal child deduction.
 
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If both parents are contributing to the care of the child then both should get a portion of the deduction as long as the deduction excists. I think each parent should have to itemize the expenses for the child, including child support, out of pocket purchases, medical insurance, medical copays, sports enrollment fees, school fees, day care costs, etc. and the deduction should be based on a percentage of the total expense paid by each parent.
 
maquiscat said:
The thread reminded me of something I had thought of years ago and I want to see where opinions lie here.

Should a non custody parent or both joint custody parents be allowed to write off their child support payments as a deduction or in the later case each take a half child deduction?

Edit: For option 2 note that it is not supposed to imply that the parent with custody doesn't get their normal child deduction.
Click to expand...

And this just got me thinking about how my student loan lender will not count child support payments against my salary...
 
I would suggest that both of the categories should be granted a deduction (assuming that any deduction is allowed at all). Of course the value of that deduction should be split between the parents based on the percentage of care and financial support they are each providing for the child.
 
First an apology. I didn't realize I made a typo in the title until I looked at my threads list. If I can correct it I will.

tessaesque said:
If both parents are contributing to the care of the child then both should get a portion of the deduction as long as the deduction excists. I think each parent should have to itemize the expenses for the child, including child support, out of pocket purchases, medical insurance, medical copays, sports enrollment fees, school fees, day care costs, etc. and the deduction should be based on a percentage of the total expense paid by each parent.
Click to expand...

I am ok with the use of a standard deduction at least in the case of joint custody. For non custodial child support, it really needs to be some kind of percentage deduction like they do medical expenses or something along those lines, if not a straight deduction. Seriously, Income taxes are complicated enough, please don't ask to make them any more complicated than they already are! :)
 
both CONTRIBUTING parents should be allowed.

Currently only the one that has majority custody can claim the child on their taxes.
 
maquiscat said:
The thread reminded me of something I had thought of years ago and I want to see where opinions lie here.

Should a non custody parent or both joint custody parents be allowed to write off their child support payments as a deduction or in the later case each take a half child deduction?

Edit: For option 2 note that it is not supposed to imply that the parent with custody doesn't get their normal child deduction.
Click to expand...

I do not believe that in general people should get tax deductions for having kids.
 
Centrist77 said:
both CONTRIBUTING parents should be allowed.
Click to expand...

Contributing WHAT, though?.... time, money, attention, emotional attachment, etc?... That's the problem. Is missing two weekends when he was supposed to have the kids more or less important than the fact that the check was there on time every month without having to be asked for? It opens up a can of worms the size of Texas.
 
Ikari said:
I do not believe that in general people should get tax deductions for having kids.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Then again I don't think people should get tax deductions for charitable giving, mortgage interest, etc... either.
 
Tigger said:
Contributing WHAT, though?.... time, money, attention, emotional attachment, etc?... That's the problem. Is missing two weekends when he was supposed to have the kids more or less important than the fact that the check was there on time every month without having to be asked for? It opens up a can of worms the size of Texas.
Click to expand...

is this a personal subject for you?
only asking cause you SEEMED to fly off the handle a smidge LOL

financially OF COURSE

we are talking about TAXES, has to be financially.

Now if you want to talk pros and cons of Money VS Nurture Im all for that. Nurture is WAAAAAAY more important but that shouldnt have anything to do with Taxes?

no can of worms is opened, the question was about tax breaks so that realates to money, period. :shrug:
 
Centrist77 said:
is this a personal subject for you? only asking cause you SEEMED to fly off the handle a smidge LOL.

financially OF COURSE. we are talking about TAXES, has to be financially.

Now if you want to talk pros and cons of Money VS Nurture Im all for that. Nurture is WAAAAAAY more important but that shouldnt have anything to do with Taxes?

no can of worms is opened, the question was about tax breaks so that realates to money, period. :shrug:
Click to expand...

It's only personal to me in that I know several single mothers and due to the significant differences in their situations I would suggest that the answer as to how much they should get in a deduction compared to their ex-husbands is very different for each individual.
 
Tigger said:
Agreed. Then again I don't think people should get tax deductions for charitable giving, mortgage interest, etc... either.
Click to expand...

Certainly shouldn't
 
Tigger said:
It's only personal to me in that I know several single mothers and due to the significant differences in their situations I would suggest that the answer as to how much they should get in a deduction compared to their ex-husbands is very different for each individual.
Click to expand...

based on what.
Taxes are taxes period. Cant base it off of anything else but financial really.

Now might some of those women have GREAT dads that pay, and pick up the kid from school, buy extras, coach their softball team, participate in PTA etc and others only let the government take that money out, show up every other birthday, and blame everything on the mom?

Of course

sadly thats reality but that has nothing to do with taxes/deductions

Im not sure what you are getting at

if its that some dads/moms need punched in the face because they suck as parents and money is not a substitute for parenting and you'd like them to lose those deductions cause they suck, well . . . . I AGREE! lol

but thats an emotional answer not a reality one when it comes to taxes
 
Ikari and Tigger, I agree with you that the only deduction on taxes should be for individuals only (i.e. not businesses) and then it is only in compensation for the basic necessaries of life.

However, deductions are there and are here to stay unless we eliminate the income tax altogether. The child deduction tax is a reality. The discussion at hand is who should it apply to and in what proportions per child.
 
maquiscat said:
Ikari and Tigger, I agree with you that the only deduction on taxes should be for individuals only (i.e. not businesses) and then it is only in compensation for the basic necessaries of life.

However, deductions are there and are here to stay unless we eliminate the income tax altogether. The child deduction tax is a reality. The discussion at hand is who should it apply to and in what proportions per child.
Click to expand...

You could have an income tax without child deductions. Particularly not infinite federal deductions. Reproduce your federal tax obligation away.

In the end, we do have it. And in the end my answer is the same; we shouldn't have it.
 
maquiscat said:
The thread reminded me of something I had thought of years ago and I want to see where opinions lie here.

Should a non custody parent or both joint custody parents be allowed to write off their child support payments as a deduction or in the later case each take a half child deduction?

Edit: For option 2 note that it is not supposed to imply that the parent with custody doesn't get their normal child deduction.
Click to expand...

I like your first option. Shared joint custody? Each parent gets a half deduction. A noncustodial parent should not be allowed to write off their child support payments any more than the parent supporting them gets to write off what they spend.
 
MaggieD said:
I like your first option. Shared joint custody? Each parent gets a half deduction. A noncustodial parent should not be allowed to write off their child support payments any more than the parent supporting them gets to write off what they spend.
Click to expand...

But a custodial parent can write off expenses from the child. Medical, childcare and others available. Even education under certain conditions is allowable. If I, to be an example, am paying money that goes towards these things (in theory at least), why should not I also get the tax benefit as well?

But in the end, the child tax deduction is for the financial care of a child. It has nothing to do with how that child is treated by either parent, custodial or not. So if both parents are financially supporting the child, then why should not both get the deduction?
 
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