Tax benefits eligibility chart for families and individuals at a glance

The child claimed does not necessarily have to be claimed as a dependent.

An unmarried child may be claimed for EITC if the child:

• Is claimed as a dependent qualifying child, or
• Can’t be claimed as a dependent qualifying child because:
  • The child provided half of their own support, or
  • Under the special rule for parents who are divorced, separated, or living apart, the taxpayer who is the custodial parent let the child’s other parent claim the child as a dependent qualifying child.

A married child may be claimed for the EITC if the child is:

• Claimed as a dependent qualifying child, or
• Under the special rule for parents who are divorced, separated or living apart, can’t be claimed as a dependent qualifying child because the taxpayer who is the custodial parent let the child’s other parent claim the child as a dependent qualifying child.

See Publication 596, Earned Income Credit, and the Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, for more information.

You and every child claimed for the credit must have an SSN that is valid for employment and was issued before the due date of the return (including extensions).

Note: An SSN issued to a U.S. citizen is valid for employment.

The child must be the taxpayer’s:

Son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, adopted child [3], foster child [4], brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or descendant of any of them.

The child must be:

• Any age and permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year. For more information, see Disability and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), or
• Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if you file a joint return), or
• Under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student [1] for at least 5 months of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if you file a joint return).

In general, a child must have lived with the taxpayer in the United States more than half the tax year (see exceptions below). The United States includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. military bases. It does not include United States possessions such as Guam, the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.

Exceptions:

• Temporary absence
• Birth or death of child
• Kidnapped child

For more residency information, see:

• Homeless shelters
• Military personnel
  • Stationed outside the United States
  • Extended active duty
• Kidnapped child

If your child can file a joint return with another person (for example, their husband or wife), you may not be able to claim them.

To be a qualifying child for the EITC, your child must not have filed a joint return with another person (for example, their husband or wife) to claim any credits such as the EITC. Your child can file a joint tax return only to get a tax refund on tax withheld from their paycheck.

For more information see:

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC)
• Publication 501, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

The child must be a U.S. citizen, national or resident.

Only one person may claim a qualifying child.

Even if two or more persons have the same qualifying child, only one person can claim the child as a qualifying child for the EITC. Note: Although there is a special rule that states the noncustodial parent may qualify for the ACTC/CTC/ODC if they meet certain requirements, the same standard does not apply to the EITC.

When two or more persons can claim the same qualifying child, the following tiebreaker rules apply.

If claiming EITC with a qualifying child:

• Schedule EIC, Earned Income Credit
• Anexo EIC, Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo

If EITC previously disallowed:

• Form 8862, Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance
• Formulario 8862 (SP), Información Para Reclamar Ciertos Créditos Después de Haber Sido Denegados (in Spanish)

Paid Preparers only: Form 8867, Paid Preparer’s Due Diligence Checklist

• Publication 596, Earned Income Credit
• Publicación 596 (SP), Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo (in Spanish)
• Instructions for Form 1040 and Form 1040-SR, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return

The person must be claimed as a dependent on the tax return – either as a qualifying child that does not qualify for Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit, or a qualifying relative.

The dependent must have an SSN, ITIN or ATIN issued on or before the due date of the return (including extensions). The SSN doesn’t have to be valid for employment.

The dependent must be an individual who isn’t related to the taxpayer, or a dependent who is a child, stepchild, foster child or a descendent or any of them or, another qualifying relative such as father/mother (including step), grandparent, aunt/uncle, sister/brother (including half or step), niece/nephew and son/daughter/mother/father-in-law.

Dependent of any age.

In general, the individual must be:

• Dependent parents or other qualifying relatives supported by the taxpayer.
• Dependents living with the taxpayer all year who aren’t related to the taxpayer.

The dependent must not provide over half of their own support for the tax year.

For a dependent claimed as a qualifying relative, the taxpayer must have provided more than half their support during the tax year.

The dependent must be a U.S. citizen, national or resident.

The dependent must not file a joint return or can only file a joint return to claim a refund of income tax withheld or estimated tax paid, and neither the individual nor their spouse has a filing requirement.

• Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents
• Anexo 8812, Créditos por Hijos Calificados y Otros Dependientes (in Spanish)

Paid preparers only: Form 8867, Paid Preparer’s Due Diligence Checklist

• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information

May be the taxpayer, taxpayer’s spouse or dependent listed on their return.

Must have a valid SSN, ITIN or ATIN issued or applied for on or before the due date of the return.

Must:

• Be pursuing a degree or other recognized educational credential
• Be enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period beginning in the tax year
• Not have finished the first four years of higher education at the beginning of the tax year
• Not have claimed the AOTC or the former Hope credit for more than four tax years
• Not have a felony drug conviction at the end of the tax year

Note: The student cannot have also claimed the Lifetime Learning Credit on the same tax return.

Can be semesters, trimesters, quarters, or any other period of study such as a summer school session. The schools determine the academic periods. For schools that use clock or credit hours and do not have academic terms, the payment period may be treated as an academic period.

The student must have received a Form 1098-T Tuition Statement from their school by January 31.

Must be paid by cash, check, credit, or debit card, or paid with money from a loan and paid by:

• Taxpayer or their spouse if a joint return is filed
• A student claimed as a dependent
• A third-party including relatives or friends.

Must be amounts paid for tuition, fees and other related expense for an eligible student required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institute. These can include student activity fees required to enroll or attend the school.

Expenses cannot have been paid with tax-free grants, scholarships and fellowships and other tax-free education help.

• Room and board
• Insurance
• Medical expenses (including student health fees)
• Transportation
• Similar personal, living or family expenses

• Form 8863, Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits)

If AOTC was previously disallowed use

• Form 8862, Information to Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance
• Formulario 8862 (SP), Información Para Reclamar Ciertos Créditos Después de Haber Sido Denegados (in Spanish)

The taxpayer must be one of the following

• Single
• Divorced or legally separated
• Married, but the taxpayer’s spouse did not live with them the last six months of the tax year
• Married to an individual that is not a citizen or resident of the United States.

The dependent must be the taxpayer’s:

• Child (including an adopted child or pending adoption)
• Brother or sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, or any of the descendants (for example, grandchild, niece, or nephew)
• Eligible foster child (a child placed in the taxpayer’s home by an authorized placement agency or by a court order)

and

• Can be claimed as a dependent
• Lived with the taxpayer more than half the year

Residency exceptions:

• Temporary absence
• Birth or death of child
• Kidnapped child

A dependent parent who doesn't live with the taxpayer may qualify them to claim HOH filing status under the rules for a dependent qualifying relative. See Publication 501 for more information.

The taxpayer must:

• Pass both the marriage test and the qualifying person test.
• Pay for more than half the cost of keeping up a home.

If claiming Head of Household filing status for dependent parents, the taxpayer must pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the parents main home for the entire year.

Paid preparers only: Form 8867, Paid Preparer’s Due Diligence Checklist

• Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction and Filing Information
• Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
• Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (For Individuals)
• Publicación 17 (SP), El Impuesto Federal sobre los Ingresos (in Spanish)