Rental Property Loss as Deduction for net income in modification of child support?

You shouldn't believe his numbers just because they are on his tax return. You (and hopefully your lawyer) can investigate the validity of his numbers. But if they are correct, he can use a loss to lower his income for child support - just like a profit could increase his income.

If he in fact is losing money from these properties, this amount can be used to calculate this income for child support. Conversely, if he starts making money off of these properties this increase would be used to calculate his income for purposes of determining child support. As my colleague mentioned, if you don't believe he is in fact losing money from the properties and feel that he is just reporting losses for the purpose of reducing his child support obligation you should certainly do some investigation.

If he can prove the losses, yes they can be deducted from his gross income. As previously suggested, if you do not believe his numbers, you can do some investigation of your own through discovery.

As usual I agree with Mr. Mullaney, but you may also want to check what the average rent is in the area of his rental properties. If he is charging less than the market rates you may be able to argue he is intentionally lowering the rent to decrease his child support obligation. This should be investigated before making any accusations. Good luck.

If he has a regular income from another source such as employment there is an argument to be made that his losses from the rental properties cannot be utilized to reduce his income from his employment. He can use the losses to reduce his income from the rentals but not his other income. Sincerely, Daniel Bachert, Esq.