Term
| What is a qualifying child? |
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Definition
| A qualifying child is a child who meets the relationship, age, residency, support, joint return, and the special test tests with regard to a taxpayer to determine the taxpayer's eligibility to claim the dependency exemption, child tax credit, earned income credit, or child and dependent care credit with regard to the child, or use the head of household filing status. |
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Term
| What is a qualifying relative? |
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Definition
| A qualifying relative is a person (1) who bears a certain relationship to the taxpayer, (2) for whom the taxpayer provides more than one-half support for the year, (3) whose gross income for the year is less than the exemption amount, and (4) who si not claimed as a qualifying child of any other taxpayer. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child relationship test? |
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Definition
| In order to satisfy the qualifying child relationship test, an individual must be related in one of the following ways: (1) son or daughter, (2) brother or sister, (3) adopted child, (4) eligible foster child, (5) a descendant of any of these (this includes all grandchildren, nieces, and nephews). Stated another way, the family "T". |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child age test? |
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Definition
| To meet the qualifying child age test, the child must meet one of the following tests: (1) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than the taxpayer, (2) a full-time student under age 24 at the end of the year, or (3) permanently and totally disable at any time during the year, regardless of age. |
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Term
| What determines full-time student status? |
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Definition
| A full-time student attends classes full-time (as determined by the institution) for five months of the year or more. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child residency test? |
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Definition
| The qualifying child residency test is satisfied if the individual lived with the taxpayer for more than six months of the year. An individual who was born or died during the year is considered to have met this test regardless of how long he lived with the taxpayer, provided he lived with the taxpayer the entire time he was alive during the year. There are exceptions for children temporarily away and the children of divorced or separated parents. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child test for support? |
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Definition
| To meet the qualifying child test for support, the individual must not provide over one-half of his own support. The taxpayer does not have to provide over one-half of the support to satisfy the support test. This test differs from the support test for qualifying relative. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child joint return test? |
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Definition
| To meet the qualifying child joint return test, the child cannot file a joint return for the year unless they file a joint return merely as a claim for refund. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying child special test? |
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Definition
| Sometimes a child meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint test to be a qualifying child of more than one person. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying relative relationship test? |
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Definition
| The qualifying relative relationship test is broader than the test for a qualifying child. Relationships that satisfy this test are: (1) all relationships included for a qualifying child, (2) father, mother, or ancestor of either, (3) brother or sister of your father or mother, (4) in-laws, including brother, sister, son, daughter, father, or mother, or (5) any individual who lived with the taxpayer the entire year. Any of these relationships that were established by marriage are not ended by death or divorce. Otherwise said, the entire family tree and then some. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying relative gross income test? |
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Definition
| To satisfy the qualifying relative gross income test, an individual must have gross income of less than $3650. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying relative support test? |
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Definition
| The support test for a qualifying relative is different than for a qualifying child. To meet this test, the taxpayer must provide over one-half of the support for an individual. |
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Term
| What is the qualifying relative not a qualifying child test? |
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Definition
| To satisfy the test for a qualifying relative, the individual must not be the qualifying child of the taxpayer or any other taxpayer. |
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Term
| What is the dependent taxpayer test? |
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Definition
| Any taxpayer who may be claimed by another person on his return may not claim any dependents. Even if the other person does not claim the taxpayer, the taxpayer still may not claim any dependents. If a taxpayer has a qualifying child or a qualifying relative, this does not exempt him from this requirement. Also, if the taxpayer is filing a joint return and his spouse can be claimed on someone else's return, then the taxpayer and spouse cannot claim any dependents on their joint return. |
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Term
| What is the joint return test? |
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Definition
| Generally, a taxpayer may not claim a married person as a dependent if the married dependent files a joint return. To meet the exception, called the joint return test, both of the following must be true: (1) no tax liability would exist for either spouse if they filed separate returns, and (2) the married couple files a joint return merely as a claim for refund. |
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Term
| What is the citizen or resident test? |
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Definition
| A taxpayer may not claim a person as a dependent unless that person is a US citizen, US resident, US national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico. If the taxpayer is a US citizen and has legally adopted a child who is not a US citizen, US resident, or US nation, the citizenship test is met if the child lived with the taxpayer all year. |
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Term
| What items are considered in computing a dependent's support? |
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Definition
| Items considered in computing a dependent's support include, but are not limited to: food, lodging (housing), clothing, grooming and personal care items, medical and dental expenses, including health insurance premiums, most education expenses, child and dependent care, transportation, recreational activities, capital items, and luxuries and items used purely for personal enjoyment. |
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Term
| What items are not considered in computing a dependent's support? |
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Definition
| Certain items not considered in computing a dependent's support include, but are not limited to: capital items for general household use, federal, state, and local income taxes paid from the dependent's income, social security and Medicare taxes paid from the dependent's wages, life insurance premiums, funeral expenses, assistance payments, and certain scholarships. |
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Term
| What are the qualifications for the child tax credit? |
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Definition
| To qualify for the child tax credit, (1) the taxpayer must have a qualifying child, (2) the qualifying child must be under the age of 17 at the end of the year, (3) the qualifying child must be claimed on the taxpayer's return, and (4) the qualifying child must be a US citizen, US national, or resident of the United States. |
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Term
| What is the child tax credit income phaseout? |
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Definition
| If the taxpayer's income is above a certain level, his allowable child tax credit begins to phase out. No portion of the child tax credit may be carried over to future years. The child tax credit worksheet is used to compute the child tax credit. |
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Term
| Is a foreign student placed in an American home for a temporary period considered a resident for purposes of the dependency test? |
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Definition
| No, a foreign student placed in an American home for a temporary period is not considered a resident for the purposes of the dependency test. However, there may be charitable deductions attributable to this activity. |
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