Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Emergency family maintenance is it tax deductable
I had a court ordered protective order which stated an amount I paid my wife monthly titled emergency family maintenance. I went to the loacl IRS office and three auditors had three different opinions, one said it was deductable, one did not want to comment, the other said it was not deductible. I sent an email to the IRS, they replied that it met the criteria for alimony and should be deductable, but would not put anything in writing, which I asked, in case the IRS would question me later. The court order does not mention anything about child support. My wife had custody of the children per order, along with use and possesion of the residence. I looked at Maryland law 12-204 and IRS publication 17 page 137, although I am not an attorney, it looks like I can claim it. I just want to make sure, how can I find out?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Emergency family maintenance is it tax deductable
Emergency family maintenance is not tax-deductible. It would not be surprising if you contacted IRS and got incorrect informatin, but even if you got it in writing, it would carry no weight if you were audited. The IRS is not liable for wrong information their employees might give you. First, child support (which is a major part of the emergency family maintenance) is never deductible. Court-ordered alimony, paid after a divorce, is deductible to you and taxable to a former spouse. But while you are still married and the "family maintenance" is undifferentiated, it is no more deductible than would be the money you might at any other time spend to pay for family expenses. If claim a tax deduction for the "family maintenance" you might not get caught, but the odds are against you.
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