You may claim a kidnapped child as your dependent if the following requirements
are met:
- The child must be presumed by law enforcement to have been kidnapped by
someone who is not a member of your family or a member of the child's family,
and
- The child had, for the taxable year in which the kidnapping occurred,
the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of
the portion of such year before the date of kidnapping.
If both of these requirements are met, the child may meet the requirements
for purposes of determining:
- The dependency exemption
- The child tax credit, and
- Head of household or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child filing
status.
This tax treatment will cease to apply as of your first tax year beginning
after the calendar year in which either there is a determination that the
child is dead or the child would have reached age 18, whichever occurs first.
For more information, refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard
Deduction, and Filing Information.
