who takes care of the children when the parents are taxed separately?

From the moment the parents are taxed separately, whatever the reason (divorce, termination of civil partnership, separation, etc.), only one of the parents can take charge of the minor children.

Unless there is evidence to the contrary, the children are considered to be the responsibility of the parent with whom they usually live: it is therefore the latter – and he alone – who benefits from the increase in the family quotient (an additional half share for the first two dependent children, a full share for the first dependent child of single parents and from the third dependent child) and tax benefits related to children: tax reduction for school fees, tax reduction for childcare costs for young children, etc.

As an exception to this rule, when the children changed their habitual residence during the year (they lived with you on 1^er January 2020 and went to live with their other relative as of the 1^er September 2020), each parent can take care of the children for the entire year and benefit from the increase in the family quotient linked to the children, but only for the year of the move.

The parent with whom the children do not live cannot declare them dependent, but can deduct from his taxable income the pension paid to his ex-spouse for their maintenance. As long as the children are minors, the pension is fully deductible, whether or not it has been set by a judge, as long as its amount is “reasonable”.

Same rules for cohabitation

For his part, the parent who receives it must include it in his taxable income. On the other hand, when the children become adults, the pension is only deductible up to 5,959 euros, whether it is still paid to the parent with whom the children live, or paid directly to the children. Correspondingly, the pension is only taxable up to this amount.

When the children live in the home of each parent alternately, the tax burden of the children is shared by half between the two parents, unless the agreement, the divorce decree, or the parents have provided otherwise. All the tax advantages are then split between the parents: each benefits from an increase in his family quotient (a quarter of a share for the first two children in alternating residence; a half for the first dependent child of single parents and from 3^e child in alternate residence).

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