Tax Court in Brief | Hicks v. Commissioner: Dependency Deductions

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The Tax Court in Brief – February 21 – 25th 2022

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Tax Litigation:  The Week of February 21, 2022, through February 25, 2022

Hicks v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-10 | February 23, 2022  | Gale, J. | Dkt. No. 10406-17

Opinion

Short Summary: This case presents a unique situation of when a noncustodial parent may claim a dependency deduction for a child. Petitioner conceded that the two children in issue (C1 and C2) did not reside with Petitioner for more than one-half of the tax year and thus could not be “qualifying children” for dependency purposes. But, Petitioner claimed that the children were still “qualifying relatives” since Petitioner provided over one-half of their support; thus, Petitioner claimed that the dependency deductions and child credits remained available.

Primary Holdings: 

Key Points of Law:  

Insights: When a non-custodial parent requests a dependency exemption for a child, the person should be prepared to show that the child is, under law, a “qualifying child” or a “qualifying relative,” and the taxpayer should obtain and submit with his or her returns, an IRS Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent, signed by the former spouse or the other parent. A court order entered after July 2, 2008 may not be used as a substitute for IRS Form 8332. A court order entered before July 2, 2008 may be used as a substitute for IRS Form 8332, provided the order contains substantially all information required by Form 8332.