Eligible Dependent

[Guest Darla K]

I have a client who is wondering if he can claim his biological daughter's expenses for braces. The tricky part is that his 14 year old daughter is from a previous marriage and the mom has custody. He is currently not claiming the daughter on his taxes. Although, he does pay for her health insurance. Can he still get reimbursed for her orthodontia or not?

[Guest JerseyGirl]

The IRS has special rules regarding the children of divorced parents (Section 105(b)) which in essence states that the child is considered to be the dependent of both parents regardless of who has custody (or the tax deduction), when it comes to medical expenses. How is the father paying for her health insurance? Is she is a dependent on his employer's plan? If so, and he is paying those premiums on a pre-tax basis, I feel that sets the stage for allowing this one.

Hope she has dental coverage, too-- braces are an expensive proposition.