How Long Can You Claim Your Child as a Dependent

Claiming children and other dependents on your taxes can be complicated. Learn who qualifies and how to claim them!

A dependent is a person other than yous or your spouse that you lot can claim on your taxes as a dependency exemption. By claiming dependents, you lot may be eligible for a number of relative credits and deductions.

Who qualifies as a dependent?

Prior to 2003, at that place were 5 or more different definitions of a dependent. In an endeavour to analyze and streamline parts of the tax code, The Working Family Tax Relief Act (WFTRA) of 2004 created a 'single' definition of a kid dependent and a non-kid dependent. The ii types of dependents are referred to as the Qualifying Child or the Qualifying Relative.

The Kid Tax Credit (CTC) has some major changes for revenue enhancement year 2021. The credit is now upwards to $three,600 for qualifying children under age half dozen and up to $3,000 for children ages 6 upward to 18, the total credit amount is refundable, and there is no requirement for earned income.

Qualifying Child

If yous want to claim a child or dependent on your taxes, your child or dependent must meet the Qualifying Child rules:

• Relationship Test – The child must exist your:
  • Son, daughter, stepchild, adopted kid, or eligible foster child – or descendant (for example, a grandchild or groovy-grandchild).
  • Sibling, half-sibling, stepsibling, or descendant (for example, nephew or niece).

• Age Test – The child must be nether age nineteen, a full-fourth dimension pupil under age 24, or any historic period if permanently and totally disabled.
  • NOTE: The taxpayer must be older than the child unless the child is disabled.
• Residency Test – The child must have the same main home every bit you for more than than half the year.
  • The child must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.Southward. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico.
• Support test - The child cannot provide more than half of their own back up.
• Joint return exam - The kid cannot file a joint return with someone.
• Divorced or separated taxpayers – the IRS recognizes the physical custodial parent as the ane eligible to merits the dependent. If the custodial parent completes and signs Grade 8332 , Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent, and provides it to the noncustodial parent. The noncustodial parent can claim the child taxation credit(s) for any eligible children. The child must be a dependent of the custodial parent.
  • A custodial parent is defined past the IRS as the parent a child lived with for more than than half the year. The half the year is counted by nights the kid slept in the parent'due south home or some other home simply under the parent's control. For instance, spending the night with a friend merely living with Dad and he gave permission.
• If two, or more, taxpayers merits the aforementioned child, the IRS will use the Tie-Breaker Rule to determine who is eligible. For more information encounter your local Revenue enhancement Pro or become to irs.gov and search on dependent children or the EIC Toolkit.

The kid cannot be used by more than one person to claim the EITC. If a child is the qualifying kid for y'all and another person, y'all will demand to decide who will claim that child.

Qualifying Relative

Qualifying relatives can include children who practise not meet the Qualifying Kid Age Test, other relatives (for example, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and in-laws), and unrelated members of the household. Dependents nether the Qualifying Relative status do non qualify the taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit (EIC) or Child Tax Credits (CTC), they practice qualify the individual for the credit for other dependents.

A person is your Qualifying Relative if all of the post-obit tests are met:

• Non a Qualifying Kid Test – Your qualifying relative must non be a qualifying child for whatsoever other taxpayer.
  • Note: An exception to this rule is when the other taxpayer for whom the kid is a qualifying child is not required to, and does not, file a tax return. For case, Amanda and her son, Travis, live with Jeremy all twelvemonth. Amanda worked during the holiday and earned $3,800. Amanda does not file a tax render because she is non required to so Jeremy can claim Travis as a qualifying relative. Jeremy is unable to claim the Child Taxation Credit, Additional Child Taxation Credit, or the Earned Income Credit for Travis.
• Member of Household or Relationship Test – Your qualifying relative must either alive with yous for the entire yr as a fellow member of your household (merely the relationship cannot violate local law) or be related to you in one of the following ways:
  • Kid (son, daughter, or adopted kid), or descendant (for instance, grandchild or great-grandchild)
  • Stepchild
  • Sibling, half-sibling, or footstep sibling
  • Parent or direct ancestor (for example, grandparent or not bad grandparent)
  • Stepfather or stepmother
  • Uncle or aunt
  • Nephew or niece
  • Father-in-law, mother in law, son-in-law, girl-in-constabulary, brother-in-police force, or sister-in-constabulary. Special rules may utilize for kidnapped children and for temporary absences due to special circumstances such as illness, teaching, business, holiday, and military service.
  • Unrelated individual who lived with you for the full twelvemonth.
• Gross Income Test – Your qualifying relative cannot have a gross income in excess of the dependent exemption amount for the year. The gross income limit for both 2022 and 2022 is $4,300.
• Support Test – Generally, you must provide more than one-half of your qualifying relative's total support. Special rules may utilize when more than 1 person is providing support for an individual or for children of divorced or separated parents.

Generally, you must provide more than half of your qualifying relative'due south total support.

Who tin can merits a dependent?

In order to claim a dependent, y'all (the taxpayer) cannot qualify as a dependent of another taxpayer. Your potential dependent(southward) must also meet the rules for Qualifying Child or Qualifying Relative.

Credits and deductions for claiming dependents

• Earned Income Taxation Credit – The EITC is a refundable credit worth up to $6,728 for qualifying taxpayers with moderate to depression income. Taxpayers can get EITC with or without children, but the credit amount is higher for those who have children.
• Child Tax Credit and Boosted Child Tax Credit - The child revenue enhancement credit is for taxpayers with dependent children under age 1 8 . The kid revenue enhancement credit is a refundable credit up to $iii,600 for children under historic period half dozen and $3,000 for children ages 6 upward to 18 . Once all income and other taxes accept been eliminated past this and other credits, any excess Kid Revenue enhancement Credit tin can be refunded .
• Credit for other Dependents – This applies to the qualifying relative part of the child tax credit. It is a nonrefundable credit of up to $500 per qualified qualifying relative.
• Child and Dependent Care Credit – This is a refundable credit for daycare for a qualified dependent while the taxpayer works. The credit is between 20% and l% of upwards $ eight 000 ($ one 6,000 if 2 or more individuals in care) of expenses. Most taxpayers will be eligible for the total fifty% credit.
• Adoption Credit – This is a nonrefundable credit of up to $fourteen,440 of expenses paid for adopting a kid who is not your stepchild. The credit is nonrefundable but tin be carried over until used, or up to five years whichever comes beginning.
• American Opportunity Tax Credit & Lifetime Learning Credit - Credits based on qualified education expenses for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent while in higher or a trade school.
• Medical expenses - You lot may claim medical expenses you paid for your kid or some other relative you were unable to claim every bit a dependent, due to the other parent or another family fellow member claiming the individual.

Children and Dependents

Ofttimes Asked Questions

Questions and Answers: Children and Dependents

Why is my refund and then late if I claim EITC?

The PATH Act requires the IRS to hold all refunds related to the EITC or ACTC until later February fourteen. This allows the IRS the power to review returns and check for tax fraud or tax id theft.

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