Filing Status
This is archived information that pertains only to the 2002 Tax Year. If you
are looking for information for the current tax year, go to the Tax Prep Help Area.
If I moved out of my house on July 1, but was not divorced at the end of the year, can I file as head of household and take the earned income credit if I have a minor child? Can I also claim child care expenses?
You do not qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit or the head of household filing status because you left your spouse on July 1, you have not lived apart for the last 6 months of the taxable year and are not considered unmarried. Your filing status for the year will either be married filing separately, or married filing jointly. If it is married filing separately, you will not qualify for the Earned Income Credit.
References: 6.3 Social Security Income: Regular & Disability Benefits Is social security considered earned income for purposes of the Earned Income Credit (EIC)?
Social security is not considered earned income for EIC purposes. However, depending on your other earnings during the year, part of it may be taxable income.
References: 8.1 Earned Income Tax Credit: Qualifying Child Rules If the child is born in the last week of December, can the child be a qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit and how do you file without a social security number?
Normally, to be your qualifying child, your child must have lived with you for more than half of the tax year. However, if the child fails the residency test because the child was born or died during the year, the child is considered to meet the test if the child lived with you for the entire time he or she was alive during the tax year.
For example, if your child was born on October 1, 2002, and lived with you for the remainder of the year, your child meets the residency test.
If your child does not have a social security number, apply for one by filling out Form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration, or call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213. It usually takes about 2 weeks to get a social security number.
If the filing deadline is approaching and you still do not have a social security number, you have two choices.
- File the return on time without claiming the Earned Income Credit. After receiving the social security number, file Form 1040X (PDF), Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, claiming the Earned Income Credit. Attach a completed Form 1040, Schedule EIC (PDF), Earned Income Credit.
- Request an automatic 4-month extension of time to file your return. You can get this extension by filing Form 4868 (PDF), Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. You can file a paper Form 4868 or you can file it electronically. For more information, see the instruction for Form 4868 (PDF).
References: My child was born and only lived 40 minutes. Can she be used as a qualifying child when figuring the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit?
If your child was born alive and died during the same year, and the exemption tests are met, you can take the full exemption. This is true even if the child lived only for a moment. Whether your child was born alive depends on state or local law. There must be proof of a live birth shown by an official document such as a birth certificate. Under these circumstances, if you do not have a social security number for the child, you may attach a copy of the child's birth certificate instead and enter "DIED" in column 2 of line 6c of the Form 1040 or 1040A.
If you have determined that you are eligible to claim your child's exemption, you may also be eligible to claim the Child Tax Credit. Please refer to the Instructions for Form 1040 or Instructions for Form 1040A for the Child Tax Credit. The referenced pages will explain who qualifies for this credit and how to calculate it.
The Earned Income Credit generally requires that you provide a valid social security number for your qualifying child. However, if you meet all the other requirements to claim this credit and your child was born and died in the same year, you will not be required to provide a social security number for that child. Instead, you may enter "DIED" on line 4 of Form 1040, Schedule EIC (PDF), Earned Income Credit, and attach a copy of the child's birth certificate.
References: In order to claim the Earned Income Credit, does the child have to be claimed as a dependent?
A qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit does not need to qualify as a dependent unless he or she is married.
Refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for a full discussion of the Earned Income Credit rules.
References: If you are single with two children who lived with you all year, but are releasing the dependency exemption for one of your dependents via Form 8332, can both children still be considered qualifying children for Earned Income Credit purposes?
Yes, your child does not have to be your dependent to be a qualifying child unless he or she is married.
To determine if you qualify for the Earned Income Credit, please review the requirements in Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit.
References: If the noncustodial parent receives permission from the custodial parent to claim a child on his or her tax return, is the noncustodial parent eligible for the Earned Income Credit?
The noncustodial parent cannot claim the Earned Income Credit on the basis of that child because the child did not live with that parent. The custodial parent may be able to claim the Earned Income Credit. A qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit does not need to be a dependent unless the child filing status is married.
Refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for the Earned Income Credit rules.
References: My wife and I have two children and we are going to file separate returns this year. Can we each claim one child for the Earned Income Credit?
In order to qualify for the Earned Income Credit, your filing status cannot be Married Filing Separately. If you are married, you usually must file a joint return to claim the Earned Income Credit.
However, if you are married and your spouse did not live in your home at any time during the last 6 months of the year, you may be able to file as Head of Household. In that case, you may be able to claim the Earned Income Credit.
Please refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for a complete discussion of the Earned Income Credit. Refer to Publication 501 (PDF), Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information, for the Head of Household filing status rules.
References: 8.2 Earned Income Tax Credit: Taxable & Nontaxable Income Is child support considered income when calculating the Earned Income Credit?
No, for purposes of calculating the Earned Income Credit, child support is not considered earned income.
Please refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for a complete discussion of the Earned Income Credit.
References: 8.3 Earned Income Tax Credit: Other EITC Issues If both parents want to claim the Earned Income Credit, who is entitled to it if there was no marriage?
If the child is a qualifying child of both parents, they may choose which one will claim the credit. If there are two qualifying children, each parent may claim the credit on the basis of one of the children. If both actually claim the credit on the basis of the same child or children, the parent who is entitled to the credit is the parent with whom the child lived for the longest period of time during the tax year, or the parent with the higher Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time during the year.
Refer to Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit, for full discussion of the Earned Income Credit rules.
References: Can I get the earned income credit?
You may be able to take this credit for 2002 if you did not have a qualifying child and you earned less than $11,060 ($12,060 for married filing jointly). You may also be able to take this credit if you had one qualifying child and you earned less than $29,201 ($30,201 for married filing jointly), or you had more than one qualifying child and you earned less than $33,178 ($34,178 for married filing jointly). Other rules apply. For details, refer to Tax Topic 601, Earned Income Credit (EIC), or Publication 596 (PDF), Earned Income Credit.
References: Can Form 1040EZ be used to claim the earned income credit?
You can use Form 1040EZ (PDF) when claiming the earned income credit only if you do not have a qualifying child. However, you must meet several requirements to use Form 1040EZ. If you do not meet all of them, you must use Form 1040A (PDF) or Form 1040 (PDF). For additional information on the requirements, refer to Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ.
References: - Form 1040 (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
- Form 1040A (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
- Form 1040EZ (PDF), U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers with No Dependents
- Tax Topic 352, Which Form - 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ
12.3 Small Business/Self-Employed/Other Business: Form W-2, FICA, Medicare, Tips, Employee Benefits How do I figure the amount of advance earned income credit to include in an employee's pay?
To figure the advance amount, use either the Tables for Percentage Method or Tables for Wage Bracket Method of Advance EIC Payments which are located in Publication 15 (PDF), Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide. Add the advance earned income credit payments to the employee's net pay for the pay period. Since this amount isn't wages, you do not withhold any income, social security, or Medicare taxes from the payment. For additional information, refer to Tax Topic 754, and Form W-5 (PDF), Advance Earned Income Credit, and/or Publication 15 (PDF), Circular E, Employer's Tax Guide.
References:
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