eitc and dependents

[Adelplew8483]

i am  a us citizen and have dependent nephews in mexico , they have never been to the US and only have ITIN can i claim them and get the EITC?

[rjs]

You didn't say where you live, or whether your nephews live with you. You might be able to claim your nephews as dependents, but just being your dependents does not make them qualifying children for the Earned Income Credit (EIC or EITC). To be qualifying children for EIC they have to have lived with you in the United States for more than half the year. That is obviously not the case, since they have never been to the United States. so you cannot use them for EIC.

You can use the tool at the following link on the IRS web site to determine whether you can claim your nephews as dependents.

Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?

[rjs]

In addition to the preceding reply, a qualifying child for EIC must have a Social Security number. Since your nephews have only an ITIN, not an SSN, they cannot be qualifying children for EIC.

So there are two reasons that you cannot use your nephews for EIC.

1. They did not live with you in the United States for more than half the year.

2. They do not have Social Security numbers.