The Child Tax Credit is a substantial credit for parents with children. The Child Tax Credit is $1,000 for each qualifying child reported on your IRS tax return. That is $1,000 going right back into your pocket.
Generally, it’s pretty easy to know if you can claim the child tax credit. Father and mother are together and they support two qualifying children in their household. They can claim a $1,000 Child Tax Credit for each child for a total of $2,000. It may be easy to understand the rules for this family but what about yours? Your 12 year old baby sister moved in with you last year, can you claim the $1,000 credit for her? Father and mother separated and the kids live with the mother. Can the father claim the kids and get the child tax credit? You had a baby on 12/31/14, can you claim the child tax credit on your 2014 taxes? You can better answer these questions by reviewing the rules for a qualifying child.
7 IRS Rules for Claiming Child Tax Credit
You can claim the Child Tax Credit if the child meets 7 IRS rules.
1) The child is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them. (grandchild, niece, or nephew).
2) This child is under age 17 as of 12/31/14.
3) You provided more than 50% of financial support for the child.
4) The child lived with you for more than half the year. There are a few exceptions. A child born on 12/31/14 is considered to have lived with you the entire year. The kids can live with the mother and the father can claim the kids if the mother provides the father formal statement authorizing it. There are other exceptions for special circumstances.
5) You can claim the child as a dependent.
6) The child doesn’t file a joint return with another.
7) The child is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or a U.S. resident alien.
The credit is $1,000 per child but the credit will be reduced if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is greater than $110,000 married filing joint, $75,000 single or head of household, or $55,000 married filing separate. For more information on the child tax credit, review IRS Publication 972.