Can I claim child tax credit for my 4 year old son in my 2017 tax return while I also apply for his ITIN ? what if ITIN is not issued by tax due date ?is there any fine ?

[svendra]

Can I claim child tax credit for my 4 year old son who stayed more than 200 days in US in my 2017 tax return while I also apply for his ITIN ?that means can I claim child tax credit while submitting his itin ? 

If yes is it fine if am going to post my documents(W7 ,tax return printed copy from Turbo tax and other required docs) to IRS on Mar-26-2018 and which is going to take at least

6 weeks of time to get ITIN? reason for asking this questions is some where I read that itin needs to assigned before tax return due date i.e 17-Apr-2018?if that is the case am I going face any delays or penalty of not being mentioning itin but still claiming for child tax credit ?

[MaryK1]

Yes you can claim the Child Tax Credit if you send your tax return with the ITIN application.  While the six weeks to get the ITIN does apply, the due date of 17 April can be extended to 17 October so you will not miss the deadline.  To make sure that the 17 Oct extension applies, file for an extension (see below on how to file for the extension).

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301811

[pk]

Assuming that you are a  US citizen/resident / rwesident for tax purposes , you satisfy the following conditions / requirements -- relationship (son), domicile ( more than 1/2 year), age ( 4 yrs), support ( provided no support ), relative age ( younger than  taxpayer), joint filing ( does not file joint with another, not required to file ). However, where you may run into issue  ( as you have already mentioned in your post) is the issue of immigration status  & dependency.  Both these  shortfall require    that the child be a resident ( for tax purposes) and the way to do that is to have an ITIN.

For you to file a joint return with your wife and include the child as a dependent, you will have to prepare the return as normal ( i.e  MFJ + child as dependent ),  leave the  space for SSN blank, print the return. Then in the space for SSN  hand  write in NRA.  After this  download from  www.irs.gov the form W-7 ( application for ITIN ) for your child and for your wife ( if she does not have an ITIN ), provide all the documentation required  and then mail the  wholething to the IRS. This will mean human intervention and retro-active (2017 ) issuance of  ITIN for your spouse and your child.  If your wife worked in her home country then this will also mean that there should be a staement signed by both you and her saying that she wants to be treated as a resident for all of 2017 , thus exposing her  non-USA income to taxation by the USA.

If you need more on this  please feel welcome to add in comments