For head of household filing status, do you have to claim a child as a dependent to qualify?

In certain circumstances, you do not need to claim the child as a dependent to qualify for head of household filing status, such as when the qualifying child is unmarried child and is your grandchild, stepchild, or adopted child. Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

I am divorced with one dependent child. This year my ex-spouse will claim the child as an exemption. Does this mean I cannot qualify as head of household?

You can file as head of household even though you do not claim your unmarried dependent child as an exemption if you meet all of the following requirements:

You are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year.

You paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year.

A qualifying person must live with you in the home for more than half the year (except for temporary absences such as school).

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

I am adopting a child and do not yet have a social security number for the child. How can I claim the exemption for the child?

Parents in the process of a domestic U. S. adoption who do not have and/or are unable to obtain the child's Social Security Number (SSN) should request an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) in order to claim the child as a dependent and (if eligible) to claim the child care credit. Form W-7A (PDF), Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions , is used by qualifying taxpayers to obtain an ATIN. To get Form W-7A, you may go to any IRS walk-in site or call 1-800-829-3676. You may also download the form here in Adobe PDF format. For more information about the ATIN, refer to the Form W-7A (PDF), instructions.

If the child is not a U. S. citizen or resident, use Form W-7 (PDF), Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number , to obtain an ITIN. For more information, refer to Individual Taxpayer Identification Number .

My husband and I have provided a home for my niece and her son for the past seven months. She receives no child support from her ex-spouse, and she does not work or have any income of her own. Can I claim her and her son as dependents?

Your niece doesn't need to live with you for the entire year in order to be claimed as a dependent. She meets the first of five dependency exemption tests, which is the relationship test. She must still meet the other four dependency exemption tests.

Citizenship test.

Joint return test.

Gross income test.

Support test.

Your niece's son did not live with you for the entire year and does not meet the relationship test. Therefore, he cannot be claimed as a dependent. Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, for more information.

Is there an age limit on claiming my children as dependents?

Age will not prevent you from claiming your children as dependents. As long as the following four dependency exemption tests are met, you may claim him or her:

Citizenship test.

Joint return test.

Gross income test.

Support test.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, orTax Topic 354, Dependents for more information.

How do you claim a child if you agree with your ex-spouse to claim him 6 months and he claims him the other 6 months of the year?

The dependency exemption can not be split. Generally , the custodial parent is treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met.

The custodial parent signs a Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, or a substantially similar statement, and provides it to the noncustodial parent who attaches it to his or her return. Please beware that if the custodial parent releases the exception, the custodial parent may not claim the Child Tax Credit.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemption, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information or Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents.

My wife and I are married filing separately. We have one son and we meet all of the dependency exemption tests. We contributed an equal amount to our son's support and want to know if we both can claim him on our separate returns?

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filling Information, for more information.

A dependency exemption may only be claimed on one return. Since neither you nor your wife contributed more than half of your son's support, one of you can still claim dependency exemption for your son only if the other spouse provides a written declaration that he or she will not claim the child as a dependent for that year. Form 2120 (PDF), Multiple Support Declaration, can be used for this purpose.

My husband and I were separated the last 11 months of the year and our two children lived with me. My husband provided all the financial support. Who can claim the children as dependents on the tax return?

For children of divorced or separated parents, generally, the custodial parent is treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if certain conditions are met. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if the custodial parent releases his or her claim to the exemption by completing Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents, or signing a substantially similar statement. Please be aware that if you release your claim to the dependency exemption for a child, you may not claim a Child Tax Credit for that child.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemption, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information or Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents.

If you pay child support, are you allowed to deduct anything on your taxes or claim the child as an exemption?

Nothing can be deducted for the child support payments. Child support payments are neither deductible by the payer nor taxable income to the payee. You may be able to claim the child as a dependent. Generally, the custodial parent generally is treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated as the parent who provided more than half of the child's support if the custodial parent signs a Form 8332 (PDF), Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced of Separated Parents, or a substantially similar statement.

Please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, and Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information.

Can a court order determine who takes a child for a deduction? Does the court order supersede the IRS requirements?

Federal law determines who may claim a dependency exemption. Please refer to Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, for more information on the special rule for children of divorced or separated parents.

My son was born on December 31st. Can I claim him as a dependent? If so, will he be also qualified for the Child Tax Credit?

If your child was born alive during the year, and the exemption tests are met, you may take the full exemption. You may be entitled to a Child Tax Credit for him. Please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information. Please Refer to the Instructions for Form 1040 for information about the Child Tax Credit.

My daughter was born at the end of the year. We are still waiting for a social security number. Can I send in my return and later supply the social security number for her?

If you file your return claiming your daughter as a dependent and do not provide her social security number on the return, the dependent exemption will be disallowed. You have two options. You could file your income tax return without claiming your daughter as a dependent. After you receive her social security number, you could then amend your return on Form 1040X (PDF), Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return . You have three years from the later of the due date of the return or from the date the return was filed to amend the return.

The other option is to file a Form 4868 (PDF), Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. This would give you an additional four months to file your return; by then you should have your daughter's social security number.

My child was stillborn. He died right before he was delivered. Can I claim my child?

You cannot claim a dependency exemption for a stillborn child. Please refer to Publication 501, Exemption, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

If I claim my daughter as a dependent because she is a full-time college student, can she claim herself as a dependent when she files her return?

If you claim your daughter as a dependent on your income tax return, she cannot also claim herself on her income tax return.

If an individual is filing his or her their own tax return, and if the individual can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, then the individual cannot claim their own personal exemption. In this case, your daughter should check the box on her return indicating that someone else can claim her as a dependent.

My father is in a nursing home and I pay for the entire cost. Can I deduct the expenses on my tax return?

You may deduct qualified medical expenses you pay for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents, including a person you claim as a dependent under a Multiple Support Agreement. You can also deduct medical expenses you paid for someone who would have qualified as your dependent for the purpose of taking personal exemptions except that the person did not meet the gross income or joint return test.

Nursing home expenses are allowable as medical expenses in certain instances. If you, your spouse, or your dependent is in a nursing home, and the primary reason for being there is for medical care, the entire cost, including meals and lodging, is a medical expense. If the individual is in the home mainly for personal reasons, then only the cost of the actual medical care is a medical expense, and the cost of the meals and lodging is not deductible.

You deduct medical expenses on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions. The total of all allowable medical expenses must be reduced by 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income. For more information, refer to Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses.

Does the Form 8332 (used to release the exemption to the noncustodial parent) affect the Child Tax Credit?

Yes. The Child Tax Credit can only be claimed by the parent claiming the exemption. In this case the noncustodial parent would qualify for the dependency exemption and therefore the child tax credit. Please refer to the Instructions for Form 1040 or the Instructions for Form 1040A index for Child Tax Credit. The referenced pages will explain who qualifies for this credit, and how to calculate it.

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.