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Form 8332 requires a taxpayer to furnish (1) the names
of the children for which exemption claims were
released, (2) the years for which the claims were
released, (3) the signature of the custodial parent
confirming his or her consent, (4) the Social Security
number of the custodial parent, (5) the date of the
custodial parent’s signature, and (6) the name and
Social Security number of the parent claiming the
exemption. * * *
Specifically, “Satisfying the signature requirement [of the
custodial parent] is critical to the successful release of the
dependency exemption within the meaning of section 152(e)(2)”.
Miller v. Commissioner, supra at 190. The signature requirement
of section 152(e)(2) demands more than an acknowledgment. The
signature of the custodial parent must confirm the custodial
parent’s intention to release the dependency exemption to the
noncustodial parent and signify the custodial parent’s agreement
to not claim the dependency exemption. Id. at 193. The
signature requirement of section 152(e)(2) is clear and
unambiguous; it requires the custodial parent to sign a written
declaration specifically releasing the dependency exemption for
his or her child to the noncustodial parent. Id.
In this case, the divorce decree included the names of
petitioner’s children, and the names and Social Security numbers
of both the custodial parent and noncustodial parent were
handwritten on a page of the divorce decree. In contrast,
information concerning the years for which the dependency
exemptions for the children were released, the date of the
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Last modified: May 25, 2011