I live in Virginia and I currently pay the mother of my child $1277
per month.  $600 of this is for child care that she pays to her mother
to watch our child during the day.  Can I deduct the child care
portion on my tax returns?

Dear Talismon-GA,

Nope. Sorry to tell you. 

If you are paying for child support,
none of that is deductible. 

In fact, even if you pay the child care
costs directly, since your child is not
your dependent on your tax return, you 
won't be able to take the child care credit.

I know. It's a lot of money, and you can
certainly use the tax break. 

But you can read more about the rules here,
in IRS Publication 503. In particular, read
about the test to claim the credit:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p503/ar02.html#d0e226

And the Child of Divorced Parents rules:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p503/ar02.html#d0e830

In essence, if your ex-wife signs over the
right for you to claim your child as a dependent,
using Form 8332, then you may take advantage of 
the Child Care Credit, too. Without that signed
form...you're out of luck.

I wish I had a more positive answer. But, at least
now you know what you need to get signed in order
to get the tax benefits.

What I usually do with my clients who have only one
child, is to arrange for them to take turns getting
the dependency exemption every other year.

I hope you can arrange that - it's a fair deal.

Best wishes,

Your TaxMama-ga