Q: I paid the total child support ordered for this year but I was late one or two times do I get to claim my child still?

A: The commissioner is correct. As long as you have paid all of your child support by December 31 of any given year, you can claim your child for purposes of the minor child tax credit and minor child tax exemptions if it is your year to do so.

You can also order an official arrearage calculation to be sure.

I would contact an experienced attorney if there are any problems with the arrearage calculation.

A: The commissioner is correct. As long as you had paid the yearly total for child support by December 31st, you can claim the child.

A: Generally, if you are current on your support obligation by the end of the year you should be entitled to the exemption. But you must check the language of your court order. The answer to your question should be there. If a court commissioner said you would be entitled, he or she likely reviewed your court orders and is probably right. Depending upon the date your decree was entered, you may need to have your ex sign IRS form 8332. Consult with your CPA to make sure that, if you take this exemption, it is done correctly.

The IRS has good information for you on its website. Below is an excerpt from the IRS website:

For all divorces final after December 31, 2008, the IRS is no longer accepting a copy of a divorce decree to show who has the right to claim the dependency exemption. You must file Form 8332 or a substantially similar statement with the return or, if you file electronically, with Form 8453.

If the divorce decree was dated before January 1, 2009, the IRS may accept certain pages of the divorce decree as a substitute for a Form 8332, if the decree unconditionally provides that the noncustodial parent may take the exemption for a child, the custodial parent signs the decree, and the decree otherwise conforms to the substance of Form 8332.