EIC

HoH filing status requires that she have a dependant related by blood who lives with her, except a parent does not have to live with her.

If the HoH qualifying person would be her dependent except she signed away her right to claim on form 8332, she might still be able to file HoH.

So who is her HoH qualifying person who lived with her most of the year?

Is that person her dependent? If not, why not?

Her filing status cannot be MFS, and she must have an EIC qualifying child who lived with her most of the year.

Can anyone claim her as their dependent?

... and claim the EIC, which cannot be waived to the non-custodial parent.

Although it may not apply to the OP situation, you can be a dependent as a Qualifying Relative (not a QC) and still be eligible for EIC.

-Mark Bole

? All of the following are potential dependents who are not related by blood and yet may count towards the HoH dependent requirement: parent-in-law, stepparent, sibling-in-law, step-sibling. By contrast, some blood relatives who are dependents for exemption purposes will not count towards the HoH dependency requirement. For example, cousins.

You state your daughter is HOH. You did not state who the qualifying person is that lived in her household for more than 6 months.

You state she has a daughter who is not her dependent. You did not state why the daughter is not her dependent.

Therefore, we do not have enough facts.

Maybe this will help you:

If your daughter has a child who is under age 19 or under age 24 & a full time student or any age but is totally & permanently disabled who lives with her for more than 6 months, that child is a "qualifying child." It entitles your daughter to all the tax benefits available. That includes filing as HOH assuming she is the one maintaining (pays more than half the cost) the household for more than 6 months,claiming a dependency exemption for the child, claiming the child tax credit if the child is under age

17, claiming the child & dependent care credit if the child is under age 13 and your daughter paid some one to care for the child in order to work and finally the earned income credit if the child is under age 19 or under age 24 & a full time student or totally or permanently disabled.

If your daughter decides to relinquish the dependency exemption to the noncustodial parent, the only tax benefit that goes to the other parent is the exemption and the child tax credit if applicable. The other three tax benefits STAY with the custodial parent. The noncustodial parent can not claim any of those other benefits for that child as that child is not the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent.

Right. Poor phrasing my part. Thanks.

There is absolutely no requirement that an EIC qualifying person be a dependent.

When I teach VITA & Taxaide volunters about EIC, I use this example:

Twenty-two year old child is a full time student living at home with her parents for 9 months, at which point she wins the lottery, collects a lump sum amount of $5 million, and buys a few very expensive cars, pays off her student loans and tuition, goes on a one-month Singles cruise, and never moves back home.

If all other EIC rules are met, can she be an EIC qualifying child of her parents?

True, but that is not the point I was making. What I said was *you* can be a dependent and still be eligible for the EIC if you have a QC and you are not a QC (your dependency is based on being a QR).

Yes. There is no support test for EIC QC.

-Mark Bole

Bingo!

But it does make a good classroom example.

Yes there is a support test. You can't be a qualifying child if you are self-supporting. It is highly likely that if the child buys quite a few expensive cars, pays off student loans and tuition, vacations for a month, the child has now probably provided more than half of his/her own total support.

Where might we find a cite for this conclusion? While there is a support test for the dependency of a qualifying child, there is none for the EIC. The only tests are relationship, age and residency.

It's all part of simplification.

Alan,

You cannot be a qualifying child for the dependency exemption if self supporting.

But Mark is correct: There is no support test for an EIC qualifying person.

And an EIC qualifying person does not have to be a dependent.

Don't be confused by the name "Uniform Definition of qualifying child."