Earned Income Credit - Qualifying Child Information - Schedule EIC

After you have calculated your Earned Income Credit (EIC), attach Schedule EIC to your 1040 or 1040A to provide the IRS information about your qualifying children.

A qualifying child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of one of them.

Furthermore the child must be either under the age of 19 at the end of the year, under the age of 24 at the end of the year and a student, or any age and permanently or totally disabled.

Qualifying children cannot file a joint return for the year you claim them and they must have lived with you in the U.S. for at least half the year.

If the child got married or can be claimed as a qualifying child by someone else, special rules apply. Refer to the instructions for Form 1040 or the instructions for Form 1040A, whichever applies to you, for further details.

Be warned: if you wrongfully try to claim the EIC when you are not eligible, the IRS will not allow you to take the credit for up to ten years.