Do the child support calculators on line assume that the person receiving child support will claim them every year on their taxes?
The actual calculation does not contemplate the dependency exemption. Often, parties will alternate who takes the exemption (ie, father in odd years and mother in even). If one parent is going to consistently take the exemption, you use that as an argument as to why there should be a Deviation from the Child Support Guidelines.
To clarify. The mediator used The Rosen Law Firm child support calculator to determine the child support amount. He aslo indicated that the calculator takes into account that the person receiving the support is claiming all of the children each year. You are stating that the your calculator which the mediator used, in no way takes into account who will be claiming the children on their income taxes? Is this correct? Thank you
If you look at our child support calculator you will see what factors are included in the calculation (incomes, custodial time, childcare costs, health care costs, etc.). The calculator does not have a field addressing the dependency exemption.
That being said, The North Carolina Child Support Guidelines state: “The Schedule presumes that the custodial parent claims the tax exemptions for child(ren) due support. If the custodial parent has no income tax liability, the Court may consider assigning the exemption for the children to the noncustodial parent, and deviate from the guidelines by increasing the obligor’s support obligation.”
Most courts have held that the custodial parent is not automatically entitled to a deviation increasing the child support obligation where the noncustodial parent has been awarded the federal tax dependency exemption. Instead, courts typically operate under the theory that the dependency exemption is a factor to be considered as part of the overall financial picture of the parents.