 Okay, step three then is gonna tell us whether or not we're gonna get this credit the more beneficial credit or even though They're a child they don't they could possibly not qualify for the child tax credit So does your qualifying child qualify you for the child tax credit or credit for other dependent dependent? So now they're a child or qualifying child not an other dependent But they still have to meet the qualifications to get the bigger credit or else We still get the smaller credit if they're not a qualifying child then the only possible benefit in terms of credits We can get would be the smaller dependent credit not the child tax credit Okay, number one did the child have a social security number an ITIN or adoption taxpayer identification number an A10 Issued on or before the due date of your return including extensions answer Yes, if you are applying for an ITIN or A10 for the child on or before the due date of your tax return So we would assume yes there if no then the IRS doesn't know who this child is and they're not going to be able to identify them You're not going to get a credit because you have to have a number You have to be a number for people that for the IRS So was the child a US citizen US national a US resident alien You can see publication 519 for the definition of US national and so on if yes Then we'll continue if no you can't claim the child due to that factor. Okay, and then we're on Number three Was the child under age 17 note? This is a different age requirement because we saw we saw before to qualify for the qualifying child the age to be a dependent Right is the child a dependent. We had the age test of 19 pushed up to 24 If they're a student Yeah, they qualify it's for the code but here we're talking about whether they qualify They are now we're saying a qualifying child to be claimed as a dependent But there's another age test in terms of whether you're gonna get the bigger credit Which is gonna be the the you know the the child tax credit versus the other dependent so and that's 17 So was the child under 17 at the end of 2022 if yes, then you continue if no Then you can claim the credit for other dependents for this child Check the credit for other dependents box So once they're past 17 you might as well kick them out of the house because you only get like $500 for him at that point in time Right, but no any games. That's that's that's that one and then so number four Did the child have a social security number valid for employment issued before the due date of your 2022 return including extension see social security number later if yes You can claim the child tax credit for this person Check the child tax credit box and column four of the dependent section on page one to form 1040 1040 SR for this person If no, you can claim the credit for other dependents for this child and so on and so forth and then So then we're gonna go down and say Number four, which we would bounce we would have bounced down to if the child was not a qualifying child So that was member of the first step where they are qualifying child if it came out to be no Then the question is well that are they still a qualifying relative that could still possibly? Allow us to get a credit for the lower credit not the child tax credit, but the other dependent credit So now they're not a qualifying child, but maybe they could still qualify here So then we're bounced down to number four a qualified relative as that person Who is your son daughter stepchild foster child or descendant of any of them? For example your grandchild or brother sister half brother half sister or a son or daughter of any of them for example your niece or nephew or Father mother or an ancestor or sibling of either of them for example your grandmother grandfather aunt or uncle or Stepbrother step sister stepfather stepmother son-in-law daughter-in-law father-in-law mother-in-law Brother-in-law or sister-in-law or any person any other person other than your spouse Who lived with you all year as a member of your household if your relationship? Didn't violate local law if the person didn't live with you for the required time see exception to time lived so quite broad of Of an array here on on the array of people so and who wasn't a qualifying child So obviously if they were a qualifying child, they would be up above and and we wouldn't be dealing We wouldn't be down here in step number four in the first place if any taxpayer So for this purpose a person isn't a taxpayer if the person isn't required to file a US income tax return And either doesn't file such a return or files only to get a refund I'm gonna get a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax. You could see publications 501 for details and who had gross income less than 4,400 in 2022 so here's the kicker here's the one that often disqualifies oftentimes because that's a pretty low income threshold, right? So before we saw we saw like a support test You're you're giving half the support to them, but here you've got this income test So which is quite low So you would expect that that could be like if they had W2 income or something Over 4,400 then they that could disqualify so if the person was permanently and totally disabled See exceptions to gross income test in that case and for whom you provided over half the person's support So now you've got this seems kind of redundant Here because they say you have to have provided over half their support And you would think if they were your dependent and they made under 4,400 and they were living with you, you know that you you kind of would in that case But maybe there are multiple people providing support and so on so now we've got these two tests the low income test And half the support the support test but see children of divorced or separate parents Multiple support agreements and kidnapped child later. So there's always these strange kind of exceptions to those rules Does any person meet the condition in your qualifying relative? So if yes, if they meet those conditions, we move on if no we stop So was your qualifying relative a US citizen US national US resident alien or a resident of Canada or Mexico? So you can see publication 519 for more detail there if yes move on if no you can't claim this person as a dependent So we'll assume yes Assuming you'll say yes, we're gonna assume yes here. So then moving on was your qualifying relative married So if yes seed married person later if no so if they were married You would expect they would file a married filing joint return typically so typically we would be normally be thinking no and Moving on I could number four could You or your spouse have filing jointly be claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2022 return so again if you're claimed as a dependent or could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return Then it would seem kind of unusual that someone's the dependent of yours although again You can see how that could happen and whatnot So if yes, you can't claim any dependents complete the rest of the form if no You can claim this person as a dependent complete lines one through three other dependent section on on page one of form 1040 and Number five Does your qualifying relative qualify for the credit for other dependents? So if they meet the test to be a dependent then you would expect that normally they would qualify For the the qualified dependent credit, but you could have some exceptions there, right? So you could have weird situations where maybe the dependent Will still be claimed and give you some benefit possibly from like a filing status situation But not actually qualify for the credit or something like that So do they qualify for the credit number one? Did your qualifying relative have a social security number an itin an a 10 issued on or before the due date of your 2020 run to return including extensions Answer yes, if you are applying for an itin or a 10 for the qualifying relative on or before The return due date if yes continue if no, you can't claim them number two Was your qualifying relative a u.s citizen u.s national or u.s resident alien see publication 519 for more detail If yes, you can claim the credit for other dependents for this dependent check the credits For other dependents box and column four of the dependent section page one of the form 1040 If no, you can't claim the credit. So there we go. There's the general kind of questionnaire Hopefully, you know, if you're Doing this in practice Then sometimes it's pretty straightforward if someone's going to be a credit and whether they're going to qualify for the Child tax credit or the other dependent credit. Sometimes it gets kind of messy. It's it's messy And you it could help to go through a formal questionnaire like this To answer that type of question sometimes the software is often useful to kind of help you out with that type of Of question to answer the question and even after going through the questionnaire You could see situations where there could be still great areas such as to someone qualify as a student in terms of what they're doing in order to be a qualifying child and that kind of stuff and questions in terms of joint custody type of situations where a child possibly could qualify For two parents and whatnot and then you've got separation agreements and custody agreement kind of situations Which is another area that you can kind of imagine often having to dive in the weeds on