A Qualifying Child (for dependent test) is a child who meets the six IRS requirements to be a dependent for tax purposes. The qualifying child may enable the taxpayer to take advantage of several tax benefits, such as Head of Household, the Child Care Credit, and the Child Tax Credit.
What are the requirements to be considered a qualifying child?
The six IRS requirements are:
- Relationship – must be the taxpayer’s child or stepchild (by blood or adoption), foster child, sibling or step-sibling, or a descendant of any of these.
- Age – on Dec 31st, must be under the age of 19, or the age of 24 if a full-time student, or regardless of age, be permanently and totally disabled.
- Residence – the child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than 6 months of the tax year. Exceptions are made for the children of separated or divorced parents. If a child was born or died during the year, they are considered to have lived with you the entire year.
- Support – refers to the child’s income, which must not have provided more than half of the child’s support for the tax year
- Joint Return – the child cannot file a joint return, unless the return is filed only to claim a refund of withholdings
- Citizenship – the child must be a US citizen, US resident alien, and the child must have a SSN by the date the return is filed.
Who can claim the qualifying child on their return?
If two or more taxpayers can claim a child in the tax year, the child will be the qualifying child of:
- the custodial parent
- the parent with whom the child resided with for the longest period of time
- the parent with the highest AGI, if the periods of time are equal
- if neither taxpayer is a parent, the taxpayer with the highest AGI
To determine if someone can be claimed as a qualifying child, click here to access the IRS Interactive Taxpayer Assistant Tool.