TN Non-Custodial Dad Not Entitled to Tax Exemption for Kids

Tennessee child support case summary on tax exemption for children.

Charlotte D. Culpepper v. Brandon K. Culpepper

The husband and wife in this Tennessee divorce case were married in 1999 and had two children, who were ages eleven and seven at the time of their 2012 divorce.  The mother was named the primary residential parent and was awarded 229 days per year of parenting time.  The trial court divided the parties’ property equally, and awarded the wife child support.  The husband had asked that each parent be awarded the tax exemption for one child, but the trial court disagreed and awarded both of them to the wife.  The trial court noted that the Tennessee Child Support Guidelines assumed that the primary residential parent would claim the children.  The husband then appealed a number of issues to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, including the division of the tax exemptions.

The wife argued that the trial court had properly decided the issue, since the Child Support Guidelines assume that the primary residential parent can claim the exemption.

The Court of Appeals agreed with the wife and ruled against the husband.  It noted that the amounts set for child support are set based upon the assumption that the primary residential parent, in this case the wife, would claim the exemption.

The court cited an earlier case noting that the IRS automatically assigned exemptions to the primary residential parent.  While the Child Support Guidelines do not require that they be assigned to that parent, that is the assumption.  In one earlier case, the court had assigned the exemptions to the non-residential parent, but the non-residential parent in that case saw a much greater benefit to the exemption.

Under the circumstances of this case, there was no such need to depart from the assumption.  The two parents had similar income, and there was no evidence that the wife agreed to assigning the exemption to the husband.

Under these circumstances, the appeals court held that it was proper to use the assumption that the residential parent would be assigned both exemptions.

The Court of Appeals did modify the arrearage in the father’s child support obligation.  However, in all other respects, it affirmed the trial court’s ruling.

No. E2014-00815-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Nov. 4, 2015).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Child Support Laws in Tennessee.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring actual examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.