Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)

This guide covers federal income tax rules, from IRS Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, the edition for 2025 returns. It describes the rules; it is not tax advice for a particular return.

Is child support taxable income?

No. IRS Publication 504 says child support payments are not taxable to the parent who receives them. The parent who receives child support does not report it as income on a federal return.

Is child support tax deductible?

No. The same sentence in Publication 504 says child support payments are not deductible by the parent who pays them.

Alimony used to be treated differently. For divorce or separation agreements made after 2018, alimony payments are also not deductible by the parent who pays them and not included in the income of the parent who receives them. Publication 504 lists child support among the payments that are not alimony.

Who claims the child on taxes after parents separate?

Paying child support does not by itself decide it. The IRS looks at where the child lived:

• the parent the child lived with for the greater number of nights during the year is the parent entitled to claim the child;
• if the nights were equal, it is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.

This tax test can differ from what a court order says about custody or which parent pays support.

Can the other parent claim the child?

Yes, under the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents in Publication 504. All of these must be true:

• the parents are divorced or legally separated, separated under a written agreement, or lived apart for the last six months of the year;
• the parents together provided over half of the child’s support for the year;
• the child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year;
• the parent entitled to claim the child signs a written release, Form 8332 or a similar statement, and the other parent attaches it to their return.

Which tax benefits move with Form 8332?

Benefit	Can move to the other parent with a release	Source
Child tax credit and additional child tax credit	Yes	Publication 504
Credit for other dependents	Yes	Publication 504
Head of household filing status	No, stays with the parent the child lived with (if eligible)	Publication 504
Earned income credit	No, stays with the parent the child lived with (if eligible)	Publication 504
Child and dependent care credit, and the exclusion for dependent care benefits	No, stays with the parent the child lived with (if eligible)	Publication 504

This guide does not state credit amounts, which change by tax year.

Can a divorce decree decide who claims the child?

Whatever a decree or agreement says, for the IRS the release itself must be on Form 8332 or a statement that conforms to it. For decrees and agreements made after 2008, the other parent cannot attach pages of the decree instead. A release that depends on a condition, such as the payment of support, does not qualify. The parent who signed a release can revoke it with the same form.

Who claims the child with 50/50 custody?

If the child spent an equal number of nights with each parent during the year, the IRS treats the parent with the higher adjusted gross income as the parent entitled to claim the child. That parent can still release the claim to the other parent with Form 8332.

How do state child support guidelines treat taxes?

Separately from federal tax treatment, each state decides which taxes come off income before support is calculated:

• Texas deducts federal income tax, computed as for a single person with the standard deduction, plus Social Security, Medicare and state income tax (Texas Family Code §§ 154.061, 154.062).
• New York deducts Social Security and Medicare taxes actually paid and New York City or Yonkers income taxes, but not federal or state income tax (Family Court Act § 413(1)(b)(5)(vii)).
• Virginia uses gross income and deducts only half of any self-employment tax (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 C).

The what counts as income explainer compares the three definitions.

Can child support take a tax refund?

Yes. A federal tax refund can be reduced to pay past-due child support: the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service makes the offset through the Treasury Offset Program and mails a notice showing the original refund, the amount taken and the agency that received it (IRS Topic no. 203). States can intercept state refunds too. The guide to child support and tax refund offsets covers the thresholds, how to contest an offset and the injured spouse claim for joint returns. For New York’s thresholds and the other ways arrears are collected, see back child support in New York.

Is there a state tax credit for parents who pay child support?

New York has one. New York’s Child Support Program describes a separate New York State earned income credit for parents who pay court-ordered child support, claimed on Form IT-209 instead of the regular state earned income credit. To qualify, the parent must meet income guidelines and have paid at least the full yearly amount due under every child support order during the tax year. The income limits and the maximum credit are published by the state each year; this guide does not repeat them.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover credit amounts, the earned income credit rules in detail, state income tax other than New York’s credit, or the tax treatment of property transfers in a divorce. Tax refunds taken for past-due support are covered only briefly above.