Qualifying Child: Sister-In-Law's Eligibility

A qualifying child is a dependent that can be claimed on taxes. To be a qualifying child, the individual must meet certain criteria, including being a US citizen or resident, being related to the taxpayer, and meeting the age requirement of being under 19 or under 24 if a full-time student. With this in mind, a sister-in-law can be a qualifying child if she meets these requirements. However, it is important to note that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for qualifying relative exemptions for tax years 2018 through 2025.

Relationship test

To be a qualifying child for the EITC, the child must be related to the taxpayer as their son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant (for example, their grandchild) of any of them; or their brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. An adopted child qualifies as the taxpayer's own child.

For example, your niece or nephew lives with you and receives support from you. They meet the relationship test because they are a descendant of your brother or sister.

In addition to the relationship test, there are other tests that must be met to qualify as a dependent. These include the residency test, the age test, and the support test.

The residency test requires that the child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half of the year. There are certain exceptions for children who were born or died during the year.

The age test requires that the child must be under the age of 19 or, if a full-time student, under the age of 24. There is no age limit if the child is permanently and totally disabled.

The support test requires that the taxpayer must provide more than half of the person's support for the tax year. This test differs from the one for a qualifying child, which tests whether the child provided more than half of their support.

Age requirement

A qualifying child must be younger than the taxpayer and under the age of 19, or under 24 if they are a full-time student. There is no age limit if the qualifying child is permanently and totally disabled. The child must live with the taxpayer for more than half of the year, with exceptions for temporary absences.

To be considered a qualifying child, the child must be related to the taxpayer as a son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or an offspring of any of them. The child must not provide more than half of their own financial support for the year.

A qualifying relative must be related to the taxpayer as a child, sibling, parent, grandparent, niece or nephew, aunt or uncle, certain in-laws, or step-relative. A person who is not related to the taxpayer can become a qualifying relative by living with them for the entire year.

In the context of the question "Can a sister-in-law be a qualifying child?", it is important to note that a sister-in-law can be considered a qualifying relative, but not a qualifying child, as she does not meet the age requirement to be considered a child.

Residency test

To be a qualifying child, the child must meet five tests: age, relationship, residency, support, and joint return. The residency test requires that the child must have lived with you for more than half the year. There are certain exceptions for children who were born or died during the year and other situations. For example, if your son lives with you for three months out of the year and doesn’t meet any of the exceptions, he does not qualify as a dependent.

If your child was born or died during the year for which you claim the EITC and they lived with you for more than half of their life during that year, that counts as more than half of the year for the EITC. If your child was temporarily away from home, that counts as time lived with you.

If a child lives with each parent separately for different portions of the year, the parent with whom the child lives for the longer period of time during the year should claim the child as a dependent. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2023.

All dependents must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. residents, or residents of Mexico or Canada (with certain adopted children as an exception).

Support test

To be a qualifying child, the person must meet the support test. This means that the taxpayer must provide more than half of the person's financial support for the tax year. The support test for a qualifying child is different from that for a qualifying relative, which tests whether the child provided more than half of their support.

The support test is one of several tests that must be passed for a person to be considered a qualifying child. The other tests are the relationship test, the age test, the residency test, and the joint return test.

The relationship test requires the child to be a son, daughter, stepchild, or foster child, or a descendant (for example, a grandchild) of any of them, or a brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, or a descendant of any of them. The adopted child qualifies as the taxpayer's own child.

The age test requires the child to be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year and younger than the taxpayer (or their spouse, if filing jointly). If the child is a full-time student, the age limit is under 24. There is no age limit if the child is permanently and totally disabled.

The residency test requires the child to live with the taxpayer for more than half of the tax year. There are certain exceptions for children who were born or died during the year, and for children who were temporarily away from home or kidnapped.

The joint return test states that the dependent cannot file a joint tax return with a spouse (except in certain cases).

In addition to these tests, there are some general criteria that must be met for a person to be considered a dependent. The dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, U.S. resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada (with certain adopted children as an exception). The dependent cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. To qualify, a dependent cannot provide more than half of their own annual support.

Joint tax return

To be considered a qualifying child for a joint tax return, the individual must meet the following criteria:

• They must be a US citizen, US national, US resident, or resident of Mexico or Canada.
• They must be related to the taxpayer as a child, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or an offspring of any of them. An adopted child is considered the same as a biological child.
• They must be under the age of 19 or, if a full-time student, under the age of 24. There is no age limit if the individual is permanently and totally disabled.
• They must be younger than the taxpayer (or the taxpayer's spouse, if filing jointly).
• They must live with the taxpayer for more than half of the year, with some exceptions for temporary absences.
• They must not provide more than half of their own financial support for the year.
• They must not file a joint tax return with another person (e.g., their spouse), except in certain cases, such as when filing jointly to claim a refund for withheld taxes.

If all the above criteria are met, a sister-in-law can be claimed as a qualifying child on a joint tax return. It is important to note that the individual claiming the dependent must be able to answer "yes" to all the above requirements. Additionally, even if a person meets the criteria for being a qualifying child for multiple people, only one person can claim them as a dependent, and special rules apply for divorced, separated, or separated parents.

Frequently asked questions