In Quinn v. Quinn, 61 A.D.3d 1067 (3d Dep’t 2009), the Supreme Court permitted the father, as noncustodial parent in a matrimonial action, to take all dependency exemptions for the parties two children in future tax years. The Supreme Court reasoned that the father is the sole source of income for the children and that allowing him to take the full benefit of the tax exemptions would “maximize the total available income to implement the court’s decision” with regard to child support.
The Appellate Division agreed with the Supreme Court’s reasoning, recognizing that “where a noncustodial parent meets all or a substantial part of a child’s financial needs, a court may determine that the noncustodial parent is entitled to declare the child as a dependent”. However, because the father’s income exceeds a tax threshold, he would be unable to declare the dependency exemptions for the 2008 and 2009 tax years. Only in the 2010 tax year and thereon could the father realize the benefits of the dependency exemptions for the parties’ children.
The Appellate Division determined that there is no reason to deprive the parties of the opportunity to realize any tax benefits for the 2008 and 2009 tax years and revised the parties’ Judgment of Divorce to permit the wife to claim the parties’ children as dependents for 2008 and 2009.
