Filing requirements, status, dependents

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, only one parent may claim the child as a qualifying child to file as head of household.

• To file as head of household you must furnish over one-half of the cost of maintaining the household for you and a qualifying person. Therefore, only one of the parents will have contributed more than one-half of the cost of maintaining the household and be eligible to file as head of household.
• If a child is a qualifying child of both parents, there is a tiebreaker rule to determine which parent may claim the child. See Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information for more information.

• What is my filing status?

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

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?

An unmarried dependent student must file a tax return if his or her earned or unearned income exceeds certain limits. To find these limits, refer to "Dependents" under "Who Must File" in Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information. You can also refer to Do I need to file a tax return? to see if your income requires you to file.

Even if you don't have to file a federal income tax return, you should file if you can get money back (for example, you had federal income tax withheld from your pay or you qualify for a refundable tax credit). See "Who Should File" in Publication 501 for more examples.

• Tax information for students

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

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

No, you may not file as head of household because you weren't legally separated from your spouse or considered unmarried at the end of the tax year. To be considered unmarried at the end of a tax year, your spouse may not be a member of your household during the last 6 months of the tax year and you must meet other requirements. In this case, your spouse was a member of your household during the last 6 months of the tax year, so you cannot be considered unmarried.

Your filing status for the year will be either married filing separately or married filing jointly.

You cannot claim the credit for childcare expenses or the earned income tax credit because these credits require married taxpayers to file a joint return to be eligible for the credit. You may be eligible to claim these credits if you decide to file a joint return with your spouse.

• Some taxpayers using the married filing separately filing status can be treated as not married to claim the earned income tax credit or the credit for childcare expenses. To qualify, the spouse claiming the credits cannot file jointly with the other spouse, needs to satisfy certain other requirements (for example, not have the same principal residence as the other spouse for the last six months of the year or have a written separation agreement), and must have a qualifying child living with them for more than half the year.

See What is my filing status? and Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information for information about filing status.

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC)
• Am I eligible to claim the child and dependent care credit?
• Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses
• Use the EITC Assistant