A Georgia court may adjust child support for the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, but it need not, and if it does, the order must say why.
What the Statute Says
OCGA 19-6-15(i)(2)(D) provides: “If the court or the jury finds that one of the parents is entitled to the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, the court or the jury may deviate from the presumptive amount of child support in consideration of such credit.” Federal law decides who can claim the credit, as our post on dependency exemptions explains; the Georgia statute only decides what the support order does about it.
How It Fits With Child Care Costs
The credit is tied to work-related child care, and those costs are already in the worksheet: under OCGA 19-6-15(h)(1) they go on Schedule D and are prorated before the presumptive amount is fixed, as our post on child care costs explains. In Kennedy v. Kennedy, 309 Ga. App. 590 (2011), a father complained of “a deviation for child care costs” made without proof or findings; the Court of Appeals held the Schedule D adjustment was part of the presumptive amount, not a deviation.
The tax credit deviation is different: it is a true deviation listed in OCGA 19-6-15(b)(7), letting a court account for the tax benefit one parent gets from expenses both share.
It Is Discretionary, and It Needs Findings
The statute says the court “may” deviate, and we have found no reported Georgia appellate decision construing this paragraph, so the general rules for deviations govern. A court that grants it must enter it on Schedule E with the written findings described in our post on required court findings for deviations, however small it is. In Black v. Black, 292 Ga. 691 (2013), a $27 monthly deviation was vacated for missing findings, because the findings “are designed to protect the interests of the child, not the divorcing spouses.”
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!