Child support payments are not tax deductible by the payer and are not taxable income to the recipient. Paying child support does not necessarily entitle you to claim the child as a dependent for tax purposes (a dependency exemption). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules dictate that the parent with whom the child spent the most nights during the tax year has the right to claim the child as a dependent. And if the child spends an equal number of nights with each parent during the tax year, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) has the right to claim the child as a dependent. Sometimes the child custody court will order the parents to alternate years of claiming the child as a dependent.

In Georgia, as in all states, child support payments are governed by federal tax law, which stipulates that these payments are neither deductible for the payer nor taxable to the recipient. This means that the parent who pays child support cannot reduce their taxable income by the amount of child support paid, and the parent who receives child support does not include it as income when filing taxes. When it comes to claiming a child as a dependent for tax purposes, the IRS rules are clear: the custodial parent, defined as the parent with whom the child spent the majority of nights during the year, is typically entitled to the dependency exemption. If the child's time is split evenly between parents, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income is given the right to claim the exemption. However, a court order or mutual agreement can allow parents to alternate the years in which they claim the child as a dependent. It's important to note that such arrangements should be clearly outlined in the child custody agreement and may require the custodial parent to sign IRS Form 8332 to release the exemption to the non-custodial parent.