Who Should Claim the Kids? Understanding Tax Benefits After Divorce

When parents share custody, deciding who should claim the children can make a big difference at tax time. Dr. Friday explains why the financially optimal choice isn’t always the obvious one.

Transcript

G’day, I’m Dr. Friday, president of Dr. Friday’s Tax and Financial Firm. To get more info, go to www.drfriday.com . This is a one-minute moment.

Figuring out our taxes, trying to track our taxes, and we’re getting to the end of the year. It’s important to also think about—if you are a husband and wife that are divorced but you have children. I had a situation that came in the office the other day.

And you know, good news is both of them came—they’re divorced, but they’re trying to figure out who benefits most from the children. Because sometimes it’s like, I’m taking the children no matter what. They’re with me, but you’re basically 50–50 caregivers.

And sometimes one makes a lot less and qualifies for a lot better benefits than the other. Sometimes they don’t get any benefit—but it’s all a personal situation. Take that out of it. Put more money in your pocket. Know your taxes.

You can catch the Dr. Friday Call-in Show live every Saturday afternoon from 2 to 3 p.m. right here on 99.7 WTN.