- 21 - U.S. Citizens Abroad); Adler v. Commissioner, 330 F.2d 91, 93 (9th Cir. 1964), affg. T.C. Memo. 1963-196 (Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals). The authoritative sources of Federal tax law are the statutes, regulations, and judicial decisions; they do not include informal IRS publications. See Zimmerman v. Commissioner, 71 T.C. 367, 371 (1978), affd. 614 F.2d 1294 (2d Cir. l979). Section 152(e)(2) clearly requires that the custodial parent release the dependency exemption for a child by signing a written declaration to that effect in order for the noncustodial parent to claim the child’s dependency exemption. The control over a child’s dependency exemption conferred on the custodial parent by section 152(e)(2) was intended by Congress to simplify the process of determining who is entitled to claim dependency exemptions for children of a marriage. See H. Rept. 98-432 (Part 2), at 1498 (1984). To make section 152(e)(2) work as intended, that control must be preserved by insisting on adherence to the requirements of section 152(e)(2). Simply attaching a State court order that is not signed by the custodial parent to the return of the noncustodial parent does not satisfy the express statutory requirements of section 152(e)(2)(A). Although the Permanent Orders granted Mr. Lovejoy the right to claim the dependency exemptions for his children, a State court cannot determine issues of Federal tax law. See Kenfield v. UnitedPage: Previous 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011