FAQ 2 - Filing Requirements, Status, Dependents, Exemptions: Filing Requirements

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.

How much does a student have to make before he or she has to file an income tax return?

If you are an unmarried dependent, you must file a tax return if your earned and/or unearned income exceeds certain limits. To find these limits refer to Filing Requirements for Dependents in Publication 501 Exemption, Standard Deduction and Filing Information. If part of your earned income is from tips, see Tax Topic 402, Tips .

Even if you do not have to file, you should file a federal income tax return to get money back if any of the following apply:

You had income tax withheld from your pay.
You qualify for the earned income credit.
You qualify for the additional child tax credit.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, for an explanation of the five exemption tests and filing requirement rules.

For additional information see Tax Information for Students

If I moved out of my house on July 10, but was not divorced at the end of the year, can I file as head of household and take the earned income credit if I have a minor child? Can I also claim child care expenses?

You do not qualify for the head of household filing status because you and your spouse have not lived apart for the last 6 months of the taxable year and are not considered unmarried. Your filing status for the year will either be married filing separately, or married filing jointly. If it is married filing separately, you will not qualify for the Earned Income Credit and cannot claim a credit based on child care expenses. If you file a joint return with your spouse, you may be eligible to claim these credits. See Publication 503, Child and Dependent Care Expenses and Publication 596, Earned Income Credit.

If two single people (never married) have a child and live together, providing equal support for that child, can they both claim head of household status?

Only the person who paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the year would qualify for the head of household filing status. If both people paid exactly the same amount, neither would qualify for the head of household filing status. Please refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for more information.

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 and is your child, 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?

Under a new law effective with tax years beginning after December 31, 2004, your niece and her son would qualify as your dependents as your qualifying children if your niece and her son--

Are the children or grandchildren of your brother or sister,
Have not attained the age of 19 (or 24, in the case of full-time students) by the close of the calendar year in which your taxable year begins,
Had the same principal place of abode as you for more than 1/2 of your taxable year, and
Have not provided 1/2 of their own support during the calendar year in which your taxable year begins.

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 or Resident test.
Joint return test.
Gross income test.
Support test.

Refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information, or Tax 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 your son is a qualifying child for both of you, you and your wife can decide who will claim the child. If you cannot agree on who will claim him refer to Tie-Breaker Rule in Publication 501

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?

Since your children lived with you for the greater part of the year, you are considered the custodial parent and you are the parent who is eligible to claim them as dependents on your tax return if the other dependency tests are met. Your husband is the noncustodial parent and would only be able to claim the children if you release your 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. The parent who the child lived with for the greater part of the year is the custodial parent. Generally the custodial parent is allowed to claim the exemption for the child if the other exemption tests are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be allowed to claim the exemption for the child 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 Form 1040 Instructions 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 six 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, Exemptions, 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 claim herself on her income tax return.

If an individual is filing his or her own tax return, and the individual can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return, the individual cannot claim his or her 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.

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