You must contact your local child support agency.

References:

• Form 8379 (PDF), Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation
• Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families Office of Child Support Enforcement.

The answer varies depending on the state that is involved. You need to contact the state involved by linking to its page on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families Offices of Child Support Enforcement web site to get this information.

References:

• Form 8379 (PDF), Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation
• Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children & Families Office of Child Support Enforcement

Your spouse can ask the agency that might be claiming the refund for a past-due debt. Another source of information is the Financial Management Service Help Desk at (800) 304-3107.

References:

• Form 8379 (PDF), Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation

Yes, you can file electronically.

References:

• Form 8379 (PDF), Injured Spouse Claim and Allocation

Only one taxpayer may claim the child as a qualifying child for purposes of filing as head of household. Also, a taxpayer filing as head of household must furnish over half the cost of maintaining the household. Therefore, both parents may not file as head of household. For more information, please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

References:

• Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information
• Tax Topic 353, What is your filing status?

Under a new law effective with tax years beginning after December 31, 2004, your niece and her son would qualify as your dependents as your qualifying children if your niece and her son--

1. Are the children or grandchildren of your brother or sister,
2. Have not attained the age of 19 (or 24, in the case of full-time students) by the close of the calendar year in which your taxable year begins,
3. Had the same principal place of abode as you for more than 1/2 of your taxable year, and
4. Have not provided 1/2 of their own support during the calendar year in which your taxable year begins.

References:

• Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

Nothing can be deducted for the child support payments. Child support payments are neither deductible by the payer nor taxable income to the payee. You may be able to claim the child as a dependent. The parent who the child lived with for the greater part of the year is the custodial parent. Generally the custodial parent is allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the custodial parent signs a Form 8332, Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced of Separated Parents, or a substantially similar statement.

Please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, and Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information.

References:

• Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information
• Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
• Tax Topic 354, Dependents

No. Child support payments are neither deductible by the payor nor taxable to the payee. When you total your gross income to see if you are required to file a tax return, do not include child support payments received. For additional information, refer to Tax Topic 422, Nontaxable Income, or Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals..

References:

• Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
• Tax Topic 422, Nontaxable Income

No, for purposes of calculating the earned income credit, child support is not considered earned income.

Please refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for a complete discussion of the earned income credit.

References:

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit
• Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit