Your child must have a Social Security number to get the CTC & ACTC.
Tax Benefits You Can Claim With an ITIN
There are some common misunderstandings around what tax benefits you can claim when you file with an ITIN.
An ITIN filer can’t claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, which specifically requires a Social Security number. Similarly, any children using an ITIN instead of a Social Security number can’t be taken into account when an otherwise qualified individual claims the credit.
ITIN Limitations Around Dependent Credits
This limitation doesn’t apply to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). So, ITIN filers can’t claim the EITC, but they can claim the CTC or the ACTC. However, there are still requirements that must be met.
To claim these CTC or the ACTC, your child (or children) must:
>Live in your home for over half the year (limited exceptions to this rule apply)
>Be your child, stepchild, adopted child, or foster child, or your brother or sister or stepsibling (or a descendant of any of these)
>Be under 17 years old at the close of the year
>Not provide over half of his or her own support for the year
>Be a U.S. citizen or resident
>>>Have an SSN issued to them by the due date of the return and Not file a joint return (with exceptions).
Tax Reform Requires SSN for CTC and ACTC Qualifying Children
One of the changes with tax reform is that children are now required to have an SSN by the due date of their return to be qualifying children for the CTC and the ACTC. This rule is effective for tax years 2018 through 2025.
Before 2018, children with ITINs could qualify taxpayers for the CTC and ACTC but only if they had an ITIN by the due date of their return for that tax year.
New Other Dependent Credit Available for ITIN Holders
The TCJA added the new Other Dependent Credit (ODC) which is a $500 credit for each dependent who doesn’t qualify for the CTC. This means a taxpayer can claim the ODC for a dependent who meets all the rules to be a qualifying child for the CTC except for the SSN requirement.
