Release of Claim to Exemption

for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents Form 8332

(Rev. September 2007)

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service © Attach to noncustodial parent’s return each year exemption is claimed.

Name of noncustodial parent claiming exemption

Release of Claim to Exemption for Current Year

I agree not to claim an exemption for

Name(s) of child (or children)

Signature of custodial parent releasing claim to exemption Custodial parent’s SSN Date

Note. If you choose not to claim an exemption for this child (or children) for future tax years, also complete Part II.

Release of Claim to Exemption for Future Years (If completed, see Noncustodial parent on page 2.)

(Specify. See instructions.)

Purpose of form. If you are a custodial

parent, you can use this form to release

your claim to a dependency exemption

for your child. The release of the

dependency exemption will also release

to the noncustodial parent the child tax

credit and the additional child tax credit

(if either applies). Complete this form (or

a similar statement containing the same

information required by this form) and

give it to the noncustodial parent who

will claim the exemption for the child.

The noncustodial parent must attach this

form or a similar statement to his or her

tax return each year the exemption is

claimed.

Part I

Part II

I agree not to claim an exemption for

Name(s) of child (or children)

Signature of custodial parent releasing claim to exemption Custodial parent’s SSN Date

General Instructions

The custodial parent is the parent with

whom the child lived for the greater part

of the year. The other parent is the

noncustodial parent.

Name of noncustodial parent claiming exemption Noncustodial parent’s

social security number (SSN) ©

Special rule for children of divorced or

separated parents. A child is treated as

a qualifying child or a qualifying relative

of the noncustodial parent if all of the

following apply.

1. The child received over half of his or

her support for the year from one or both

of the parents (see the Exception on this

page). Public assistance payments, such

as Temporary Assistance for Needy

Families (TANF), are not support provided

by the parents.

2. The child was in the custody of one

or both of the parents for more than half

of the year.

3. Either of the following applies.

a. The custodial parent agrees not to

claim the exemption for the child by

signing this form or a similar statement.

If the decree or agreement went into

effect after 1984, see Post-1984 decree

or agreement on this page.

For this rule to apply, the parents

must be one of the following.

● Divorced or legally separated under a

decree of divorce or separate

maintenance.

● Separated under a written separation

agreement.

● Living apart at all times during the last

6 months of the year.

OMB No. 1545-0074

Attachment

Sequence No. 115

pages from the decree or agreement

instead of Form 8332. To be able to do

this, 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 other parent will not claim the

child as a dependent.

3. The years for which the claim is

released.

The noncustodial parent must attach

all of the following pages from the

decree or agreement.

● Cover page (include the other parent’s

SSN on that page).

● The pages that include all of the

information identified in (1) through (3)

above.

● Signature page with the other parent’s

signature and date of agreement.

CAUTION

The noncustodial parent must

attach the required information

even if it was filed with a return

in an earlier year.

b. A pre-1985 decree of divorce or

separate maintenance or written

separation agreement states that the

noncustodial parent can claim the child

as a dependent. But the noncustodial

parent must provide at least $600 for the

child’s support during the year. This rule

does not apply if the decree or

agreement was changed after 1984 to

say that the noncustodial parent cannot

claim the child as a dependent.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see back of form. Cat. No. 13910F Form 8332 (Rev. 9-2007)

for the tax year 20 .

for the tax year(s) .

Exemption for a dependent child. A

dependent is either a qualifying child or a

qualifying relative. In most cases, a child

of divorced or separated parents will

qualify as a dependent of the custodial

parent under the rules for a qualifying

child. However, the noncustodial parent

may be able to claim the exemption for

the child if the Special rule for children of

divorced or separated parents on this

page applies.

For the definition of a qualifying child

and a qualifying relative, see your tax

return instruction booklet.

Post-1984 decree or agreement. If the

divorce decree or separation agreement

went into effect after 1984, the

noncustodial parent can attach certain

If this rule applies, and the other

dependency tests in your tax return

instruction booklet are also met, the

noncustodial parent can claim the

exemption for the child.

Exception. If the support of the child

is determined under a multiple support

agreement, this special rule does not

apply and this form should not be used.
Form 8332 (Rev. 9-2007) Page 2

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We

ask for the information on this form to

carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the

United States. You are required to give

us the information. We need it to ensure

that you are complying with these laws

and to allow us to figure and collect the

right amount of tax.

become material in the administration of

any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax

returns and return information are

confidential, as required by Internal

Revenue Code section 6103.

The average time and expenses

required to complete and file this form

will vary depending on individual

circumstances. For the estimated

averages, see the instructions for your

income tax return.

If you have suggestions for making this

form simpler, we would be happy to hear

from you. See the instructions for your

income tax return.

Custodial parent. You may agree to

release your claim to the exemption for

the child for the current tax year or for

future years, or both.

● Complete Part I if you agree to release

your claim to the exemption for the child

for the current tax year.

● Complete Part II if you agree to release

your claim to the exemption for the child

for any or all future years. If you do, write

the specific future year(s) or “all future

years” in the space provided in Part II.

To help ensure future support,

you may not want to release your

claim to the exemption for the

child for future years.

Specific Instructions

Noncustodial parent. Attach this form or

similar statement to your tax return for

each year you claim the exemption for

the child. You can claim the exemption

only if the other dependency tests in your

tax return instruction booklet are met.

TIP

If the custodial parent released

his or her claim to the

exemption for the child for any

future year, you must attach a

copy of this form or similar statement to

your tax return for each future year that

you claim the exemption. Keep a copy for

your records.

TIP

You are not required to provide the

information requested on a form that is

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

unless the form displays a valid OMB

control number. Books or records

relating to a form or its instructions must

be retained as long as their contents may