"There is nothing on the tax form or instructions that says son/daughter distinction is required" Yes there is.
See the 1040 form (<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040.pdf</a>) lines 1-4 where dependents are listed. It says "see instructions" . Note that the instructions say *required* so the relationship is required. (relationship is defined elsewhere in the instructions)
The instructions say:
"Follow the steps below to find out if a person qualifies as your
dependent, and to find out if your dependent qualifies you to
take the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents. If
you have more than four dependents, check the box on the right
side of page 1 of Form 1040 (just above the Dependents section)
and include a statement showing the information required
in columns (1) through (4)."
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
