Dependents

As a prospective adoptive parent in the process of adopting a U.S. citizen or resident, you'll need a taxpayer identifying number (TIN) for the child who is being adopted to claim the child as a dependent. If you don't have and are unable to obtain the child's Social Security number (SSN), you should request an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).

• An ATIN is available if a child who is a U.S. citizen or resident is lawfully placed in your household for legal adoption. To obtain an ATIN, use Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions. For more information, refer to the Instructions for Form W-7A PDF and to Adoption taxpayer identification number.
• If the child isn't a U.S. citizen or resident, and if the child qualifies as a dependent, a TIN is still required. To obtain an ITIN, use Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. For more information, refer to Individual taxpayer identification number.

Please note that for tax years 2018 through 2025, you may not claim the child tax credit on either your original or an amended return if your child doesn't have an SSN valid for employment before the due date of your return (including extensions). If your child has an ATIN or an ITIN, your child may qualify you for the credit for other dependents.

• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information
• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Topic 607, Adoption credit and adoption assistance programs
• Am I eligible to claim a credit for adopting a child or to exclude employer-provided adoption benefits from my employer?
• Does my child/dependent qualify for the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents?

You may be eligible to claim both your niece and her son as dependents on your return. In order to claim someone as your dependent, the person must be:

1. Either your qualifying child or qualifying relative
2. A U.S. citizen, U.S. resident, U.S. national or a resident of Canada or Mexico
3. Unmarried or, if married, not filing a joint return or only filing a joint return to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid.

Additionally, you must meet the dependent taxpayer test. If you can be claimed as a dependent by another person, you can't claim anyone else as a dependent. If your niece can be claimed by you as your dependent, your niece cannot claim her son as a dependent of her own. 

The requirements for a qualifying child and a qualifying relative, as well as additional information regarding these tests, can be found in Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?

To claim your child as your dependent, your child must meet either the qualifying child test or the qualifying relative test:

• To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
• There's no age limit if your child is "permanently and totally disabled" or meets the qualifying relative test.

In addition to meeting the qualifying child or qualifying relative test, you can claim that person as a dependent only if these three tests are met:

1. Dependent taxpayer test
2. Citizen or resident test, and
3. Joint return test

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

No, an individual may be a dependent of only one taxpayer for a tax year. You can claim a child as a dependent if he or she is your qualifying child. Generally, the child is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year.

However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) applies. See Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals for more information. This rule requires in part, that both of the following conditions are met:

• The custodial parent signs a Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent or a substantially similar statement, and
• The noncustodial parent attaches the Form 8332 or a similar statement to his or her return.

If the custodial parent releases a claim to exemption for a child, the noncustodial parent may claim the child as a dependent and as a qualifying child for the child tax credit or credit for other dependents. However, the noncustodial parent may not claim the child for the purpose of claiming head of household filing status, the earned income credit, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, or the exclusion for dependent care benefits.

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Does my child/dependent qualify for the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents?
• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

No, a child may only be claimed as a dependent on one return in a tax year.

For more information on which of you can claim your son, refer to Whom may I claim as a dependent?

• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

Although your husband provided the support, you are considered the custodial parent since your children lived with you for the greater part of the year. You can claim a child as a dependent if he or she is your qualifying child. Generally, a child is the qualifying child of the custodial parent and the custodial parent may claim the child as a dependent.

If certain conditions are met, you may choose to release a claim to exemption for a child by completing Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent or by signing a substantially similar statement. If you release a claim to exemption for a child, your husband must attach a copy of the release to his return to claim the child as a dependent.

Note: If you release a claim to exemption for a child, you may not claim the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit, or the credit for other dependents for that child. The noncustodial parent cannot claim the child as a qualifying child for head of household status, the dependent care credit, or the earned income tax credit.

Refer to Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information or Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart).

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?

No and maybe. Child support payments are neither deductible by the payer nor taxable income to the recipient. The payer of child support may be able to claim the child as a dependent:

• If the payer is the child’s custodial parent for federal income tax purposes, the payer is generally the parent entitled to claim the child as a dependent under the rules for a qualifying child if the other tests for claiming the child are met. The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent.
• If the payer is the noncustodial parent, then the payer may only claim the child as a dependent if the special rule for a child of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) applies. That rule requires, in part, that the custodial parent sign and provide the noncustodial parent a Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent or a substantially similar statement. The noncustodial parent must, then, attach a copy of that release to his or her return in order to claim the child as a dependent.

• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information
• About Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
• Whom may I claim as a dependent?

Federal tax law is what determines who may claim a child as a dependent on a federal income tax return. Even if a state court order allocates the ability to claim the child to a noncustodial parent, the noncustodial parent must comply with the federal tax law to claim the dependent. The noncustodial parent must attach to his or her return a copy of the release of claim to exemption by the custodial parent, either a Form 8332, Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent or a substantially similar document.

Refer to Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart).

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

Yes, if your child was born alive during the year and the tests for claiming your child as a dependent are met, you may claim her as a dependent. You may also be entitled to claim:

• The child tax credit (CTC) and/or additional child tax credit (ACTC)
• Head of household filing status
• The earned income credit (EIC)

For information about taxpayer identification number requirements, see the Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) or My daughter was born at the end of the year. We're still waiting for a Social Security number. May I file my return now and provide her Social Security number later?

Refer to Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information for more information.

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• What is my filing status?
• Does my child/dependent qualify for the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents?
• Use the EITC Assistant

If you file your return claiming your daughter as a dependent and don't provide her Social Security number (SSN) on your return, the IRS will not allow you to claim her as a dependent.

You have two options:

1. You may file your income tax return without claiming your daughter as a dependent. After you receive her SSN, you may then amend your return on Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return and claim your daughter as a dependent. Generally, you have three years after the date you filed your original return or two years after the date you paid the tax, whichever is later, to amend your return.
2. The other option is to file a Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This option would give you an additional six months to file your return; by then you should have your daughter's SSN. However, any tax owed is due at the filing due date without the extension.

You may also be eligible to claim the earned income credit (EIC) and/or the child tax credit/additional child tax credit (CTC/ACTC). Please note that you may not claim your child as a qualifying child for the EIC on either your original or an amended return if your child doesn't have an SSN on or before the due date of your return (including extensions), even if your child later gets an SSN. Similarly, you may not claim your child as a qualifying child for the CTC/ACTC if your child doesn't have an SSN on or before the due date of your return (including extensions), even if your child later gets an SSN. However, if you have an SSN, but your child does not, you can still claim the EIC if you meet the other requirements for claiming the EIC. In this instance, you would get the EIC allowed to taxpayers without children, which is smaller than the EIC allowed to taxpayers with children. For more information about taxpayer identification number requirements, see the Instructions for Form 1040 (and Form 1040-SR) and Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040).

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Should I file an amended return?
• What is the due date of my federal tax return or am I eligible to request an extension?

In order to claim a newborn child as a dependent, state or local law must treat the child as having been born alive, and there must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document like a birth certificate. Due to these requirements, you may not claim a stillborn child as a dependent.

• Whom may I claim as a dependent?
• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information