Child Related Tax Benefits Comparison
Our handy chart shows the eligibility requirements for tax benefits available to taxpayers with a qualifying child
|
Age |
Relationship |
Residency |
Support |
|
|
Earned Income Tax Credit |
Child must be under 19 at end of year; under age 24 if a full time student; any age if disabled. |
Child must be taxpayer's child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, step sibling, or descendent of any of these. |
Child must live in the U.S. with the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Some temporary absences count as time lived at home. |
No support test. (Married child cannot provide over 1/2 of his/her own support.) |
|
Dependency Exemption |
Child must be under 19 at end of year; under age 24 if a full time student; any age if disabled. |
Child must be taxpayer's child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, step sibling, or descendent of any of these. |
Child must live with the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Some temporary absences count as time lived at home. |
Child did not provide over 1/2 of his/her own support. |
|
Child Tax Credit |
Child must be under age 17 at the end of the year. (No exception for disabled children.) |
Child must be taxpayer's child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, step sibling, or descendent of any of these. |
Child must live with the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Some temporary absences count as time lived at home. |
Child did not provide over 1/2 of his/her own support. |
|
Head of Household |
Child must be under 19 at end of year; under age 24 if a full time student; any age if disabled. |
Child must be taxpayer's child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, step sibling, or descendent of any of these. |
Child must live with the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Some temporary absences count as time lived at home. |
Child did not provide over 1/2 of his/her own support. (Taxpayer must provide over half the cost of maintaining the household.) |
|
Child Care Credit |
Child must be under age 13 or disabled at the time of the child care. |
Child must be taxpayer's child, stepchild, adopted child, foster child, sibling, step sibling, or descendent of any of these. |
Child must live with the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Some temporary absences count as time lived at home. |
Child did not provide over 1/2 of his/her own support. |
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Warning! This chart is just a summary. Please follow links for more detailed information and resource materials. |
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Child Tax Benefits -- The Fine Print
Qualifying Child Rules for Tax Year 2008
| Must have SSN (not ATIN/ITIN) | Child must be U.S. citizen or resident | Child must be U.S. cit/res. or res. of CN or MX | Joint return test applies | Exception for div./sep. parents can be used | Other people can be used to get this benefit | Disabled children can be any age | Special form? | |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Yes | Yes | N/A | Yes | No (child must live with the taxpayer) | No (can be claimed with no QC in some cases) | Yes | Schedule EIC, Form 8862 if EITC previously disallowed |
| Dependent | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (qualifying relative - old rules) | Yes | Must be shown on Form 1040 |
| Child Tax Credit | No | Yes | N/A | No | Yes | No | No | Form 8901 if child is not a dependent |
| Head of Household | No | No | Yes | Yes | No (child must live with the taxpayer) | Yes (most other dependents who are related) | Yes | No, but if child isn't dependent, must be shown on Form 1040 |
| Child Care Credit | No | Yes | N/A | N/A | No (child must live with the taxpayer) | Yes (certain disabled dependents) | Yes | Form 2441 |
06/02/2009