There are rules about who you can claim. There is a “qualifying child” and a “qualifying relative.”
Qualifying Child
- The child must be the taxpayer’s child, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendent of one of these relatives. This includes a child placed with the taxpayer for adoption, even if the adoption is not final. An eligible foster child is any child placed with the taxpayer by an authorized placement agency or court.
- The child must live with the taxpayer for more than 6 months of the year in the US. Temporary absences for school, vacation, medical care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility count as time lived at home. There is an exception for divorced or separated parents. The exception allows a parent who has not lived with the child for more than 6 months to claim them as a dependent and claim the child tax credit. But only one of the parents can claim the child. This exception does NOT apply to head of household filing status or the Earned Income Credit (EITC).
- The child must be younger than the taxpayer unless they are permanently and totally disabled. There are different age limits for the various credits:
- Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses – the child must be under age 13 when the care was provided or any age if the child is disabled and cannot take care of themselves.
- Child Tax Credit – child must be under age 17 on December 31, 2017.
- Dependency Exemption, Head of Household filing status, and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – the child must be under age 19 or a full-time student under age 24 on December 31, 2017, or any age if permanently and totally disabled.
- The child cannot have provided over half of his or her own support during the year. Social Security benefits received for a child as the beneficiary of a deceased or disabled parent are included in the child’s income. The support test does not apply when determining if the taxpayer has a qualifying child for the EITC.
- If the child can be claimed by a parent as a qualifying child, but neither parent claims the child NO ONE ELSE can claim the child unless their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is higher than the AGI of both parents. This situation can happen when extended family lives together.
- If a child is a qualifying child for more than one taxpayer, and they can’t agree on who will claim the child, the parent who lived with the child longest that year should claim the credit. If the child lived with both parents for the same length of time, the parent with the higher income should claim the credit.
If the child:
- did not live with any parent,
- is a qualifying child of more than one taxpayer, and
- the taxpayers can’t agree who should claim the child,
then the taxpayer with the highest income will get the credit.
Qualifying Relative
A qualifying relative is someone who is:
- a U.S. Citizen or lived in the United States, Canada or Mexico,
- a member of your household for the whole year (even if not related to you), or a family member who may or may not live with you like:
- your child, grandchild, great grandchild, stepchild,
- your brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister,
- your parent, grandparent, stepparent,
- your aunt or uncle, niece or nephew,
- your father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
- brother-in-law, or sister-in-law.
The child or person usually can’t be your dependent if:
- They are married and file joint taxes with their spouse.
- They earn more than $4,050 during 2017. But, if the person is your child under age 19 or a student under 24, they can still be your dependent and earn more than $4,050.
The rules above are for federal taxes. Minnesota uses rules like these for state income and property taxes. Ask the person who does your taxes.
IRS Publications 17 and 501 have worksheets to help figure out if you meet the support test. You can call the IRS at 1-800-TAX-1040 or go to their website at www.irs.gov to get these.
Foster parents who claim a “charitable deduction” for certain costs (see below) can’t use those same costs to meet the support test.
If you meet the rules to claim the child as a dependent, and the child is under age 17, you may be able to get the Child Tax Credit, which is worth up to $1,000 per child.
