On February 23, 2022, the Tax Court issued a Memorandum Opinion in the case of Hicks v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2022-10). The primary issue presented in Hicks v. Commissioner was whether the petitioner was entitled to the dependency exemption deductions and child tax credits claimed on his income tax return. Background to Hicks v. Commissioner The petitioner has two children with one Ms. Oddimissia N. Johnson who were minors in 2014, the year at issue. Oddimissia were never married and did not cohabitate in 2014. In fact, Oddimissia lived with her mother Juanita, as did the two children (for more than ½ of the year). The petitioner provided over ½ of the children’s financial support in 2014. In 2006, an Ohio state court adopted a shared parenting plan, signed by Oddimissia and the petitioner, which provided that Oddimissia could claim Child 1 every year for tax purposes, and the petitioner…