Ex claiming daycare expenses on non-court ordered CS

[How to communicate after a contentious divorce...]

Hello. It looks like S4’s mom is going to claim the CS that I gave her which supposedly paid for daycare on her taxes. She has since refused any further CS. She now has DC assistance through the state. My question is, since this money wasn’t court ordered, can this money be seen as a gift? The checks that I wrote her listed CS on the memo line.

There was a generic receipt (from one of those booklets that you can buy at Staples) that list when the “cash” payments started to when they stopped. There are discrepancies here. My payments to S4’s mom go beyond the final payment listed on the receipt, and start before the first payment on the receipt. I’m assuming that since I wrote CS on the memo line instead of DC that this is null and void. Still, I’d appreciate any feedback.

[JNChell]

Hello. It looks like S4’s mom is going to claim the CS that I gave her which supposedly paid for daycare on her taxes. She has since refused any further CS. She now has DC assistance through the state. My question is, since this money wasn’t court ordered, can this money be seen as a gift? The checks that I wrote her listed CS on the memo line.

There was a generic receipt (from one of those booklets that you can buy at Staples) that list when the “cash” payments started to when they stopped. There are discrepancies here. My payments to S4’s mom go beyond the final payment listed on the receipt, and start before the first payment on the receipt. I’m assuming that since I wrote CS on the memo line instead of DC that this is null and void. Still, I’d appreciate any feedback.

[ForeverDad]

I could jump in with all sorts of angles and statements (I'm not sure what DC is?) but it just boils down to... .

If you're divorced (or not married and relationship ended), she's doing her taxes separate from yours and it won't impact your own tax paperwork then... .it's her decision how she declares items on her taxes.  If IRS contests, well, they'll be reaching out to her most likely.  She's an adult, it's her consequences.  If IRS reaches out to you, then state your position and provide your appropriate docs.

Starting this year any child support (CS) orders will continue the tax liability of the payer.  The big change is with alimony, starting with 2019 any new or revised alimony orders are the payer's tax responsibility too.  In years past the recipient had to list alimony.  Everyone loved it that way since usually the payer had higher income and the recipient often had minimal income, so the tax man got less.  The govt got smart and changed the rules starting Jan 1 for new or revised alimony orders.

[Sandb2015]

Hey JNChell,

The state you are in may help.

Are you saying the CS is NOT court ordered?  If not, it is not a gift especially if she is declaring it as income. 

What is DC?

I'm in NY, It matters what she is declaring.  What you wrote on the check or received a receipt for is relevant, it shows money only changed hands. 

[JNChell]

DC is daycare. Sorry, I assumed it was on the list of abbreviations. I should’ve looked first. From what I see, she’s not listing it as income. She cashed my checks, paid cash and is listing it as an expense.

[JNChell]

I should also point out that we were never married. Also, that when she requested CS during the breakup, she said it was just that. CS. Just before she denied “CS”, and added another state benefit to her list of many (state daycare assistance), she stated that I had been paying for daycare only. Now she’s claiming the money that I paid (on her return) as if she had paid it in cash? I’m not interested in pursuing it if I even can. I simply want to be able to see this crap coming in the future.

There are subjects on this board that are very pressing. Much more so than mine. I appreciate the feedback.