• The Iowa Supreme Court guidelines for child support require parents to revise their exemptionsto adjust for the change in marital status.TAX TIME image by brelsbil from Fotolia.com
  
  The Iowa Department of Human Services administers the state's child support program. Its Child Support Recovery Unit is responsible for collecting information to facilitate the award and recovery of child support payments. The Iowa Supreme Court established guidelines to determine child support awards based on financial statements of each parent, which includes income and expense information. The awarding of child support changes the exemptions that each parent can now claim on their income tax returns. Parents must declare the appropriate exemptions on their child support financial statements to adjust for the change in marital status.
  
  

Marital Status

• A couple's marital status changes when they become legally divorced. The Iowa Supreme Court guidelines require each parent to list their updated marital status on their financial statement. The guidelines state parents must change their status so that the unmarried custodial parent assumes the head of household status; the unmarried noncustodial parent uses the "single" status and married custodial or non-custodial parents use the "married filing separately" status for determining child support awards as well as for tax purposes. The marital status designation helps determine the tax exemptions each parent is eligible to receive.
  
  

Exemptions

• Iowa Supreme Court guidelines also require parents to designate their exemptions on the financial statements. Each parent must list the appropriate number of exemptions on their financial statement, which is also necessary for filing income tax statements. State law permits one exemption for the parent. The custodial parent receiving child support can take an additional exemption for each legal child shared with the non-custodial parent. A concession is appropriate when evidence exists that the non-custodial parent paying child support is entitled to an exemption for the child.
  
  

Child Care Deduction

• Married couples jointly raising children receive a child care deduction when they file their annual income tax return. However, the Supreme Court guidelines state that only the custodial parents can take the child care deduction on the income tax forms. The law applies even when child support payments paid by the non-custodial parent cover all or a portion of child care costs.