Form 8332 and grandparents

[ttbtaxes]

Grandchild lives full-time with grandparents who have legal joint custody with the dad. The mother is long gone.

Grandparents don't need the exemption for the grandchild. Dad would like to claim his child as dependent but that can't happen unless the grandparents can waive the dependent via Form 8332.

So, the question is can a grandparent, who has joint custody with the dad (their son) of a child, waive the dependent exemption and confer it to the dad using Form 8332?

[spanel]

Grandchild lives full-time with grandparents who have legal joint custody with the dad. The mother is long gone.

Grandparents don't need the exemption for the grandchild. Dad would like to claim his child as dependent but that can't happen unless the grandparents can waive the dependent via Form 8332.

So, the question is can a grandparent, who has joint custody with the dad (their son) of a child, waive the dependent exemption and confer it to the dad using Form 8332?

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf

Read the above. My answer is no. This is only allowed for divorces or separated parents. The Grandparents are not the parents of the child, therefor cannot give away the exemption/ctc.

Chris

[New York Enrolled Agent]

Grandchild lives full-time with grandparents

So, the question is can a grandparent, who has joint custody with the dad (their son) of a child, waive the dependent exemption and confer it to the dad using Form 8332?

I agree with the previous poster that §152(e) only applies to parents.

However, you provide scant details with respect to age, support and so on. You need to review §152(c) and §152(d) to make any final determination.

[FEDUKE404]

Form 8332 not for grandparents

Well, the title of Form 8332 is "Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent" and the signature line on said form shows "Signature of custodial parent releasing claim to exemption."

I think you have your answer.

FE

[taxea]

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf

Read the above. My answer is no. This is only allowed for divorces or separated parents. The Grandparents are not the parents of the child, therefor cannot give away the exemption/ctc.

Chris

I agree no but not with your reasoning...what if they are the legal guardians?

[spanel]

I agree no but not with your reasoning...what if they are the legal guardians?

Are you saying... what if grandma/grandpa are legal guardians and they divorce/separate?

Can they do an 8332 for grandma/grandpa? I would say yes.

Can they give away the exemption to someone besides them? I would say no.


Chris

[FEDUKE404]

Don't see how custodial grandparents can release exemption

I took a few minutes and, with my morning coffee, reread the IRS instructions for Form 8332.

Nowhere do I see anything mentioned other than the proper treatment / transfer of an "exemption for child" as relates to a custodial parent or to a non-custodial parent.

A grandparent is not a parent.

FWIW: I am rather intrigued by what was referred to in the OP as "grandparents who have legal joint custody with the dad." I'll have to scratch my head on that one.

I just don't see how the custodian grandparents, who don't need the child's exemption, can "give away" that exemption to the non-custodial dad who apparently can use it. And, even if such could be done, I don't see how you could ever make Form 8332 fit the facts provided.

FE

[taxea]

Are you saying... what if grandma/grandpa are legal guardians and they divorce/separate?

Can they do an 8332 for grandma/grandpa? I would say yes.

Can they give away the exemption to someone besides them? I would say no.


Chris

No, saying both are legal guardians of the kids who live with one of the kids parents for 7 mos of year.

[dtlee]

I agree no but not with your reasoning...what if they are the legal guardians?

Are you saying... what if grandma/grandpa are legal guardians and they divorce/separate?

Can they do an 8332 for grandma/grandpa? I would say yes.

Can they give away the exemption to someone besides them? I would say no.

Chris

No, saying both are legal guardians of the kids who live with one of the kids parents for 7 mos of year.

I am having a bit of trouble following this dialogue.

First of all, everything official and nearly official that I have read relates Form 8332 to parents, either custodial or noncustodial. While the definition of a "parent" is somewhat vague I have seen no reference to guardians. I do not see how the grandparents can use Form 8332 even if they are legal guardians.

However, if you are saying that if the grandparents are the legal guardians who share a home with a parent of the children for more than half the year such that the child qualifies as a Qualifying Child of each grandparent and also the child's father who lives with them, it still becomes unclear what point we are discussing.

When a child is a Qualifying Child of multiple individuals (older siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, etc.) all living in the same household, the IRS basically tells us to pick one and only one taxpayer to claim the child or they will impose a tiebreaker rule. Form 8332 does not come into play such that the aunts, siblings, and grandparents all have to use Form 8332. Form 8332 is used to either release or revoke the claim of a child by the custodial parent to allow the noncustodial parent to claim the child for certain benefits or revoke that privilege.

This may very well be what you are saying, but I generally have trouble reading between the lines.

In general, I usually refer to the Divorced or Separated Parents Rule as the rule where Qualifying Children must meet certain Qualifying Relative rules. Not only must the parents be divorced, separated, or living apart for the requisite amount of time and live with the child (for a combined total of) more than half the year (the QC part), but they must also together provide more than half of that child's support (the QR part). If you are saying that if the father lives with the child more than half the year that this parent can use Form 8332 to release the child to the other parent even though that child may be living with the grandparents much of the year, that is possible, but with the caveat that the Qualifying Relative support test must be passed by the two parents. However, in the original post, the mother is not part of the picture, so there is no noncustodial parent needing Form 8332.

Thus, when going back to the original question, Form 8332 has no relevance and the question really is whether or not the child is or is not able to be claimed as a Qualifying Child of the father under the normal (and I use that word very loosely) Qualifying Child rules.

[taxmom34]

Taxea , where did you get that dad only lived with grandparents 7 months?
poster stated that grandparents had joint legal custody with dad.
Doesn't joint mean that either dad or grandparents have custody. if I were presented with that fact , I would ask if grandparents will object (but poster said they didn't need the exemption), and I also would do a dependency worksheet for my records, that will allow or disallow .

[dtlee]

Taxea , where did you get that dad only lived with grandparents 7 months?
poster stated that grandparents had joint legal custody with dad.
Doesn't joint mean that either dad or grandparents have custody. if I were presented with that fact , I would ask if grandparents will object (but poster said they didn't need the exemption), and I also would do a dependency worksheet for my records, that will allow or disallow .

Your point is somewhat valid, but in a situation like this, without knowing where the child and the father and the grandparents lived and when (none of which was stated), there is no way to determine how this should be handled. If everyone lived in the same house, then the child is potentially the Qualifying Child of three people (assuming no one else related to the child lived there) and your suggestion is valid. If there is more than one household, then it depends on with whom the child lived for more than half the year (and if the child did not live with anyone more than half the year, the child likely only qualifies with one taxpayer under the Qualifying Relative rules).

[Rapid Robert]

I am having a bit of trouble following this dialogue.

It seems a waste of time at this point. The person who originally posted the question has never come back to reply, and has probably already filed the return by now. So, we don't have enough facts, as has been pointed out.