What are the requirements for claiming a qualifying child?

An eligible child can be considered your dependent if they meet the following IRS requirements:

The minor can be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster kid, adopted child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, grandchild, niece, or nephew.

• The child must be younger than you and under the age of 19 at the end of the year.
• Otherwise, he or she must be younger than you, a full-time student, and younger than 24 years old at the end of the year.
• There is no age limit if the child is permanently or completely disabled.

You must have contributed more than half of his or her financial support during the year.

The child cannot file a joint return. If he or she is submitting a combined return, they can only request a refund of tax withheld or anticipated tax paid.

To qualify, the child must:

• Have lived with you for more than half of the year
• Be an unmarried U.S. citizen, national, resident alien, or a resident of Canada or Mexico
• Earn less than $4,050 (subject to change)

You and your spouse (if filing married filing jointly) cannot be dependents on another taxpayer’s return.

What information do I need to claim a dependent?

If all of these conditions are met, you may claim your eligible child as a dependent on your tax return. You must include the dependent’s:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Relationship with you
• Social Security number
• Income earned (if any)

Every dependency can only be claimed once. You are eligible for an exemption for each dependent you claim.

If the individual is a qualifying dependant of more than one parent, the parent with the highest Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) can claim the exemption.

If the dependent you are claiming is filing their own taxes, they must indicate on their return that they are being claimed.

For more information, click here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 at 9:55 pm and is filed under Credits, Tax Related Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.