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Qualifying Children for EITC EITC Home

NOT all children are considered qualifying children.   Any qualifying child you use to claim the EITC must have a valid social security number. Adoption taxpayer identification numbers (ATINs) and individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) cannot be used to claim EITC.

Your child is your qualifying child if the child meets four tests. The four tests are:

  1. Relationship,
  2. Age,
  3. Residency, and
  4. Joint Return.

You can use up to three qualifying children to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Answer these questions for one child at a time:

Relationship Test

Is the child your son, daughter, adopted child, stepchild, foster child, or a descendant of any of them (such as a grandchild)?
Yes No

Is the child your brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them (such as a niece or nephew)?
Yes No

Age Test

What was your child's age at the end of 2011?
Under 19
19 to 23
Over 23

Was your child a full-time student during 2011?
Yes No

Is your child younger than you (or your spouse if filing jointly)?
Yes No

Was your child permanently and totally disabled at any time during 2011?
Yes No

Residency Test

Did your child live with you in the United States for more than half of 2011? (This means the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It does not include U.S. possessions, such as Guam and the Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico.)
Yes No

Joint Return Test

Did your child file a joint tax return?
Yes No

Did your child and your child's spouse file only to claim a refund and neither was required to file?
Yes No N/A

Qualifying Child of More Than One Person

Is your child the qualifying child of more than one person?
Yes No

Valid Social Security Number

Does your child have a valid social security number?
Yes No