Earned Income Tax Credit: Qualifying Child Rules
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2005 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
My child was born and only lived 40 minutes. Can she be used as
a qualifying child when figuring the earned income credit and the child tax
credit?
If your child was born alive and died during the same year, and the exemption
tests are met, you can take the full exemption. This is true even if the child
lived only for a moment. Whether your child was born alive depends on state
or local law. There must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document
such as a birth certificate. Under these circumstances, if you do not have
a social security number for the child, you may attach a copy of the child's
birth certificate instead and enter "DIED" in column 2
of line 6c of the Form 1040 (PDF) or Form 1040A (PDF).
If you have determined that you are eligible to claim your child's exemption,
you may also be eligible to claim the child tax credit. Please refer to the Form 1040 Instructions or Form 1040A Instructions for
the Child Tax Credit. The referenced pages will explain who qualifies for
this credit and how to calculate it.
The earned income credit generally requires that you provide a valid social
security number for your qualifying child. However, if you meet all the other
requirements to claim this credit and your child was born and died in the
same year, you will not be required to provide a social security number for
that child. Instead, you may enter "DIED" on line 4 of Form 1040, Schedule EIC (PDF), Earned Income Credit,
and attach a copy of the child's birth certificate.
In order to claim the earned income credit, does the child have
to be claimed as a dependent?
A qualifying child for the earned income credit does not need to qualify
as a dependent unless he or she is married.
Refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for a full discussion
of the earned income credit rules.
If the noncustodial parent receives permission from the custodial
parent to claim a child on his or her tax return, is the noncustodial parent
eligible for the earned income credit?
The noncustodial parent cannot claim the earned income credit on the basis
of that child because the child did not live with that parent and does not
meet the residency test. The custodial parent may be able to claim the earned
income credit.
Refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for the earned
income credit rules.
My wife and I have two children and we are going to file separate
returns this year. Can we each claim one child for the earned income credit?
In order to qualify for the earned income credit, your filing status cannot
be married filing separately. If you are married, you usually must file a
joint return to claim the earned income credit.
However, if you are married and your spouse did not live in your home at
any time during the last 6 months of the year, you may be able to file as
head of household. In that case, you may be able to claim the earned income
credit.
Please refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, for
a complete discussion of the earned income credit. Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions,
Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for the head of household
filing status rules.
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