Splitting tax benefits for Qualifying Child

[Mark Goldberg]

big picture first

page 27 in pub 17 says if two people are eligible to claim one child as a qualifying child, then the two parents get to choose which one it is and that person gets any and all of the tax benefits. They can't pick and choose which benefits go to which person, example 1. If the two can't decide, then the IRS will use tiebreakers to decide.
I have to say example 4 on that page, goes on to make Koss' point that a child of someone who is a dependent themself is not a qualifying child of that person and therefore that child could be a qualifying relative of another.

[jainen]

Relationship, Residence, Age, and Support

Relationship, Residence, Age, and Support. Those are the four tests. Which one does such a child fail?

[Bill Tubbs]

page 27 in pub 17 says if two people are eligible to claim one child as a qualifying child, then the two parents get to choose which one it is and that person gets any and all of the tax benefits. They can't pick and choose which benefits go to which person, example 1.

But, is that the correct interpretation of the law?!? I haven't had a chance to digest the committee report yet to see what they intended. To me, the law can be interpretted a couple different ways.

Bill

[Koss]

Relationship, Residence, Age, and Support. Those are the four tests. Which one does such a child fail?

The Internal Revenue Code doesn't define qualifying child except with respect to certain benefits.

Certain code sections provide certain benefits to a taxpayer, if that taxpayer meets eligibility criteria and has a qualfiying child as defined in that code section. The purpose of each code section is to establish benefits for the taxpayer. The code is not intended to establish a relationship between the taxpayer and another individual, such that the relationship exists in a vacuum.

The four tests do not stand alone. They are applied within the meaning of each code section. If a code section is not applicable to a taxpayer, then that code section does not operate to create a relationship between the taxpayer and a child.

Burton