Qualifying Child Rules
To claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for a child, the child must meet certain rules. Here are the qualifications for a child to be considered a qualifying child for the EITC:
1. Valid Social Security Number
The child must have a valid Social Security number.
2. Tests for a Qualifying Child
A child must meet all four tests to be considered a qualifying child for the EITC. These tests are:
Age
- Any age and permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.
- Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if you file a joint return).
- Under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student for at least 5 months of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if you file a joint return).
Full-time Student Definition
To be considered a full-time student, the student must have enrolled for the number of hours or courses their school considers to be full-time attendance. Students who work on "co-op" jobs in private industry as part of a school's official program are also considered full-time students.
School Definition
For the EITC, a school is:
- Elementary school
- Junior or senior high school
- College or university
- Technical, trade, or mechanical school
A school is not:
- On-the-job training course
- Correspondence school
- School offering courses only through the Internet
3. Relationship
The child must be your:
- Son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child, or foster child
- Brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepsister, or stepbrother
- Grandchild, niece, or nephew
Adopted Child Definition
An adopted child is a child who is lawfully placed with you for legal adoption.
Foster Child Definition
For the EITC, you can only claim a foster child that is placed with you by:
- A State or local government agency
- An Indian tribal government
- A tax-exempt organization licensed by a state or an Indian tribal government
- A court order
4. Residency
The child must live in the same home as you in the United States for more than half of the tax year. 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.
Birth or Death of a Child
If the child was born or died during the year for which you claim the EITC and they lived with you for more than half of their life during that year, we consider that more than half of the year for the EITC.
Temporary Time Away from Home
If your child was temporarily away from home, we count that as time lived with you. For example, your relative may temporarily leave the home because of:
- Illness or hospitalization
- School attendance, vacation, business, or military service
- Detention in a juvenile facility
- Kidnapping
Only One Person May Claim a Qualifying Child
A child may meet all the requirements and qualify more than one person for the following child-related benefits:
- Dependency exemption
- EITC
- Child tax credit/credit for other dependents/additional child tax credit
- Head of household filing status
- Dependent care credit/exclusion for dependent care benefits
However, even if two or more persons have the same qualifying child, only one person can claim the child as a qualifying child for all these benefits. Special rules apply for parents who are divorced, separated, or living apart.
When two or more persons can claim the same qualifying child, the following tiebreaker rules apply. Subject to these rules, you may be able to decide who will claim the child-related benefits:
- If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent.
- If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parents.
- If the parents don't file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period in 2023. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2023.
- If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for 2023.
- If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for 2023, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any parent of the child who can claim the child.
For more information on the tiebreaker rules, refer to Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC).
If you can't claim the qualifying child because of the tiebreaker rules, you may still be eligible to claim the EITC with no qualifying child.
Other Credits You May Qualify For
If you qualify for the EITC, you may also qualify for other tax credits, such as:
- Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents
- Child and Dependent Care Credit
- Education Credits
For more information on these credits, refer to the resources below.