Under Section 27 of the Arizona Child Support Guidelines (“Guidelines”), the dependent child tax exemptions are to be allocated between the parents in child support cases as the parents agree, or if the parents do not agree, the court is to allocate the exemptions between the parents proportionate to their incomes. The court will also generally allocate responsibility to pay the children’s medical expenses not covered by insurance in proportion to the parents’ incomes, though the Guidelines do not specifically require a proportionate division. See Section 9(A) of the Guidelines.
For example, if the parents have three children, the mother earns $60,000 per year and the father $30,000 per year (a 2:1 earnings ratio), the mother would claim two exemptions each year and the father would claim one exemption each year. Another acceptable solution would be for the mother to claim all the children two of every three years and for the father to claim the children one of every three years. The mother might claim all the children in years one and two, four and five, and so on. The father would claim all the children in years three, six, and so on. The mother would also generally be ordered to pay two-thirds (2/3) of all of the children’s medical expenses not covered by medical insurance, and the father would pay one third (1/3).
However, as indicated in Section 9 of the Guidelines, both the allocation of dependent tax exemptions and the division of uninsured medical expenses are subject to negotiation. The court will almost always accept the division of tax exemptions and uninsured medical expenses to which the parents agree. A clever attorney will carefully evaluate these issues and attempt to determine the allocation that will be most beneficial to his client. Then the attorney will skillfully negotiate for the outcome that will favor his client.
For example, if I represent the parent who earns 80% of the parents’ combined income, and if the children’s medical insurance coverage is very good (i.e., the expenses not covered by insurance are very low), I will likely advise my client to pursue a proportionate division of the dependent tax exemptions and uninsured medical expenses because the dependent tax exemptions will probably save my client more money than my client will spend on the children’s out-of-pocket medical expenses. In some instances, we may even offer to pay 100% of the uninsured expenses (if we believe they will be very low) in exchange for being able to claim all the dependent child tax exemptions every year.
If my client believes the out-of-pocket medical expenses for the children will be very high, however, we may propose an equal division of both the dependent tax exemptions as well as the uninsured expenses. This is especially important if the other parent has the ability to make medical care decisions that would obligate my client to pay a high amount of out-of-pocket medical expenses. The high wage earner might be better off forfeiting some of the benefit of the dependent tax exemptions in exchange for getting the other parent to bear a greater share of the uninsured medical expenses. Additionally, a parent who bears a significant portion of the children’s uninsured medical expenses is less likely to incur frivolous medical expenses than one who shoulders little or none of this burden.
A parent who is ordered to pay child support (“obligor”) may only claim the dependent exemptions allocated to him in the child support order if he is current in his child support obligation by December 31 of the years for which the exemptions are to be claimed. See Guidelines, Section 27. If the child support obligor meets this condition, the primary residential parent / child support obligee must sign IRS Form 8332 to transfer the exemption to the obligor / non-primary residential parent. Under current tax law, a non custodial parent may not claim a child as a dependent tax exemption without the signed Form 8332. If the child support obligor is not current in his child support obligation by the end of the calendar year, he may not claim the exemptions for that year.
When it comes to the division of uninsured medical expenses and dependent tax exemptions, there are many factors to consider, some of which may require consultation with experts. At very high income levels, for example, dependent tax exemptions are phased out and offer no benefit whatever. In addition to seeking advice from an experienced family law attorney, therefore, parents should carefully review their medical insurance coverages and consult with their tax advisors if necessary.
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