Page 22

uncle), and 11% from a friend. Either you or your uncle can take the exemption for your fa­ ther if the other signs a statement agreeing not to. The one who takes the exemption must at­ tach Form 2120, or a similar declaration, to his return and must keep for his records the signed statement from the one agreeing not to take the exemption. Support Test for Children of Divorced or Separated Parents (or Parents Who Live Apart) In most cases, a child of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) will be a qualifying child of one of the parents. See Chil- dren of divorced or separated parents (or pa- rents who live apart) under Qualifying Child, earlier. However, if the child does not meet the requirements to be a qualifying child of either parent, the child may be a qualifying relative of one of the parents. In that case, the following rules must be used in applying the support test. A child will be treated as being the qualifying relative of his or her noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true. 1. The parents: a. Are divorced or legally separated un­ der a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, b. Are separated under a written separa­ tion agreement, or c. Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married. 2. The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents (and the rules on multiple support agreements, explained earlier, do not apply). 3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year. 4. Either of the following statements is true. a. The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she will not claim the child as a de­ pendent for the year, and the noncus­ todial parent attaches this written dec­ laration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce de- cree or separation agreement, later. If the decree or agreement went into ef­ fect after 2008, see Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement, later.) b. A pre­1985 decree of divorce or sepa­ rate maintenance or written separa­ tion agreement that applies to 2014 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement was not changed after 1984 to say the non­ custodial parent cannot claim the child as a dependent, and the non­ custodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the year. Custodial parent and noncustodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncus­ todial parent. If the parents divorced or separated during the year and the child lived with both parents before the separation, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the rest of the year. A child is treated as living with a parent for a night if the child sleeps: At that parent's home, whether or not the parent is present, or In the company of the parent, when the child does not sleep at a parent's home (for example, the parent and child are on vaca­ tion together). Equal number of nights. If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights during the year, the custodial parent is the pa­ rent with the higher adjusted gross income. December 31. The night of December 31 is treated as part of the year in which it begins. For example, December 31, 2014, is treated as part of 2014. Emancipated child. If a child is emancipa­ ted under state law, the child is treated as not living with either parent. Absences. If a child was not with either pa­ rent on a particular night (because, for example, the child was staying at a friend's house), the child is treated as living with the parent with whom the child normally would have lived for that night. But if it cannot be determined with which parent the child normally would have lived or if the child would not have lived with ei­ ther parent that night, the child is treated as not living with either parent that night. Parent works at night. If, due to a parent's nighttime work schedule, a child lives for a greater number of days, but not nights, with the parent who works at night, that parent is treated as the custodial parent. On a school day, the child is treated as living at the primary resi­ dence registered with the school. Written declaration. The custodial parent must use either Form 8332 or a similar state­ ment (containing the same information required by the form) to make the written declaration to release the exemption to the noncustodial pa­ rent. The noncustodial parent must attach a copy of the form or statement to his or her tax return. The exemption can be released for 1 year, for a number of specified years (for example, al­ ternate years), or for all future years, as speci­ fied in the declaration. Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement. If the divorce de­ cree or separation agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, the noncustodial parent may be able to attach certain pages from the decree or agreement instead of Form 8332. The decree or agreement must state all three of the following. 1. The noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent without regard to any condition, such as payment of support. 2. The custodial parent will not claim the child as a dependent for the year. 3. The years for which the noncustodial pa­ rent, rather than the custodial parent, can claim the child as a dependent. The noncustodial parent must attach all of the following pages of the decree or agreement to his or her tax return. The cover page (write the other parent's social security number on this page). The pages that include all of the informa­ tion identified in items (1) through (3) above. The signature page with the other parent's signature and the date of the agreement. Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement. The noncustodial parent cannot attach pages from the decree or agreement to the tax return instead of Form 8332 if the de­ cree or agreement went into effect after 2008. The custodial parent must sign either Form 8332 or a similar statement whose only purpose is to release the custodial parent's claim to an exemption for a child, and the noncustodial pa­ rent must attach a copy to his or her return. The form or statement must release the custodial parent's claim to the child without any condi­ tions. For example, the release must not de­ pend on the noncustodial parent paying sup­ port. The noncustodial parent must attach the required information even if it was filed with a return in an earlier year. Revocation of release of claim to an ex- emption. The custodial parent can revoke a release of claim to an exemption that he or she previously released to the noncustodial parent. For the revocation to be effective for 2014, the custodial parent must have given (or made rea­ sonable efforts to give) written notice of the rev­ ocation to the noncustodial parent in 2013 or earlier. The custodial parent can use Part III of Form 8332 for this purpose and must attach a copy of the revocation to his or her return for each tax year he or she claims the child as a dependent as a result of the revocation. Remarried parent. If you remarry, the support provided by your new spouse is treated as pro­ vided by you. Child support under pre-1985 agreement. All child support payments actually received from the noncustodial parent under a pre­1985 agreement are considered used for the support of the child. Example. Under a pre­1985 agreement, the noncustodial parent provides $1,200 for the child's support. This amount is considered sup­ port provided by the noncustodial parent even if the $1,200 was actually spent on things other than support. Alimony. Payments to a spouse that are in­ cludible in the spouse's gross income as either alimony, separate maintenance payments, or CAUTION ! Page 22 Publication 501 (2014)