Legal Question in Family Law in California

The parties can always agree on who takes the deduction. Absent agreement, the right to claim a child for tax purposes depends on two questions: did the child live with you for more than half the year, and did you contribute more than half the child's support for the year. The father may mistakenly believe that because he pays child support he is contributing more than half the child's support. However, if you have more than 50/50 custody, because of the expense of maintaining a home for the child, etc., the IRS presumes that you also contribute more than half the support. Only if there is such a gross disparity of income that your daughter's father pays so much support that you are essentially both living off the child support, he is not entitled to claim her.