My child was born August 2016 does she qualify for the earned income credit?

[raeshawn7777]

4 months at the end of the year so does she qualify for eic?

[Bsch4477 · Accepted solution]

Yes.  In the dependent info section say that the child lived with you 12 months which is consistent with IRS rules.

[raeshawn7777]

Can I amend my taxes to fix this?

[VolvoGirl]

Didn't you get credit for her?  Yes you can amend.

[raeshawn7777]

No I didn't. Thanks

[turchynv]

How can a child live with parents for a whole year if it they are born in December?  This does not make sense.  Could you provide a link at irs.gov that supports your statement?

[VolvoGirl]

See IRS pub 501 page 14 Death or Birth of a Child.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf</a>

[turchynv]

Thanks so much for a quick reply.  However it still states that a child must be alive and have lived with the family for half a year or more:
Death or birth of child. A child who was born
or died during the year is treated as having lived
with you more than half the year if your home
was the child's home more than half the time he
or she was alive during the year.

[turchynv]

The following paragraph on that page states:
Child born alive. You may be able to claim
an exemption for a child born alive during the
year, even if the child lived only for a moment.
State or local law must treat the child as having
been born alive. There must be proof of a live
birth shown by an official document, such as a
birth certificate. The child must be your qualifying
child or qualifying relative, and all the other
tests to claim an exemption for a dependent
must be met.

This sounds that although there is birth certificate, the child still must pass the residency test, which is they must have lived with parents for 6 or more months.  Am I missing something?

Thank you.

[VolvoGirl]

It says a child born or died DURING the year.......
It doesn't specify when.  Is treated as having lived with you more than half the year.

[turchynv]

I agree that it doesn't specify when a child has to be born during the year.  However it clearly states that the child must meet the tests, which in this case a child born in August does not meet a Residency test.

[Rainman12]

"A child who was born or died during the year is treated as having lived with you more than half the year if your home
was the child's home more than half the time he or she was alive during the year." Is complete and sufficient guidance in itself.

[Hal_Al]

Any other person is considered to have lived with you for all
of 2016 if the person was born or died in 2016 and your home
was this person's home for the entire time he or she was alive in
2016. Reference: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf</a> (page 19)

Since there is no check box for that circumstance, in TurboTax, the user has to know to select "all year". and the Turbotax instructions say that.

[turchynv]

Thank you All so much for guidance.  Apparently I made a mistake for 2015 tax year thinking that my child who was born in October 2015 did not qualify.  Can I amend? If so, can this be done via TurboTax and when can I file?

[Hal_Al]

Yes, you can amend to claim the child as a dependent, for the EIC and Child Tax credit.
How to amend <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1894381-how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-filed"...>