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credit, if you qualify for each of those tax bene­ fits (and if your son's father does not, in fact, claim your son as a qualifying child for any of those tax benefits). Example 10—unmarried parents claim same child. The facts are the same as in Ex- ample 9 except you and your son's father both claim your son as a qualifying child. In this case, only your son's father will be allowed to treat your son as a qualifying child. This is because his AGI, $14,000, is more than your AGI, $12,000. If you claimed an exemption or the child tax credit for your son, the IRS will disal­ low your claim to both these tax benefits. If you do not have another qualifying child or depend­ ent, the IRS will also disallow your claim to the earned income credit, head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, and the exclusion for dependent care benefits. Example 11—child did not live with a pa- rent. You and your 7­year­old niece, your si­ ster's child, lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old, and your AGI is $9,300. Your mother's AGI is $15,000. Your niece's parents file jointly, have an AGI of less than $9,000, and do not live with you or their child. Your niece is a qualifying child of both you and your mother be­ cause she meets the relationship, age, resi­ dency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only your mother can treat her as a qualifying child. This is because your mother's AGI, $15,000, is more than your AGI, $9,300. Applying this special rule to divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart). If a child is treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent under the rules described earlier for children of divorced or sep­ arated parents (or parents who live apart), only the noncustodial parent can claim an exemption and the child tax credit for the child. However, the custodial parent, if eligible, or other eligible person can claim the child as a qualifying child for head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclu­ sion for dependent care benefits, and the earned income credit. If the child is the qualify­ ing child of more than one person for these ben­ efits, then the tiebreaker rules determine which person can treat the child as a qualifying child. Example 1. You and your 5­year­old son lived all year with your mother, who paid the en­ tire cost of keeping up the home. Your AGI is $10,000. Your mother's AGI is $25,000. Your son's father did not live with you or your son. Under the rules explained earlier for children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart), your son is treated as the quali­ fying child of his father, who can claim an ex­ emption and the child tax credit for him. Be­ cause of this, you cannot claim an exemption or the child tax credit for your son. However, your son's father cannot claim your son as a qualify­ ing child for head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, or the earned income credit. You and your mother did not have any child care expenses or dependent care benefits, so neither of you can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits. But the boy is a quali­ fying child of both you and your mother for head of household filing status and the earned in­ come credit because he meets the relationship, age, residency, support, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. (Note: The sup­ port test does not apply for the earned income credit.) However, you agree to let your mother claim your son. This means she can claim him for head of household filing status and the earned income credit if she qualifies for each and if you do not claim him as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. (You cannot claim head of household filing status because your mother paid the entire cost of keeping up the home.) Example 2. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your AGI is $25,000 and your mother's AGI is $21,000. Your mother cannot claim your son as a qualifying child for any pur­ pose because her AGI is not higher than yours. Example 3. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except you and your mother both claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. Your mother also claims him as a qualifying child for head of household filing status. You, as the child's parent, will be the only one allowed to claim your son as a qualifying child for the earned income credit. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the earned income credit and head of household fil­ ing status unless she has another qualifying child. Qualifying Relative Four tests must be met for a person to be your qualifying relative. The four tests are: 1. Not a qualifying child test, 2. Member of household or relationship test, 3. Gross income test, and 4. Support test. Age. Unlike a qualifying child, a qualifying rela­ tive can be any age. There is no age test for a qualifying relative. Kidnapped child. You can treat a child as your qualifying relative even if the child has been kidnapped, but both of the following state­ ments must be true. 1. The child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a member of your family or the child's family. 2. In the year the kidnapping occurred, the child met the tests to be your qualifying relative for the part of the year before the date of the kidnapping. This treatment applies for all years until the earliest of: 1. The year the child is returned, 2. The year there is a determination that the child is dead, or 3. The year the child would have reached age 18. Not a Qualifying Child Test A child is not your qualifying relative if the child is your qualifying child or the qualifying child of any other taxpayer. Example 1. Your 22­year­old daughter, who is a student, lives with you and meets all the tests to be your qualifying child. She is not your qualifying relative. Example 2. Your 2­year­old son lives with your parents and meets all the tests to be their qualifying child. He is not your qualifying rela­ tive. Example 3. Your son lives with you but is not your qualifying child because he is 30 years old and does not meet the age test. He may be your qualifying relative if the gross income test and the support test are met. Example 4. Your 13­year­old grandson lived with his mother for 3 months, with his un­ cle for 4 months, and with you for 5 months dur­ ing the year. He is not your qualifying child be­ cause he does not meet the residency test. He may be your qualifying relative if the gross in­ come test and the support test are met. Child of person not required to file a return. A child is not the qualifying child of any other taxpayer and so may qualify as your qualifying relative if the child's parent (or other person for whom the child is defined as a qualifying child) is not required to file an income tax return and either: Does not file an income tax return, or Files a return only to get a refund of in­ come tax withheld or estimated tax paid. Example 1—return not required. You support an unrelated friend and her 3­year­old child, who lived with you all year in your home. Your friend has no gross income, is not required to file a 2014 tax return, and does not file a 2014 tax return. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if the support test is met. Example 2—return filed to claim refund. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your friend had wages of $1,500 during the year and had income tax withheld from her wages. She files a return only to get a refund of the in­ come tax withheld and does not claim the earned income credit or any other tax credits or deductions. Both your friend and her child are your qualifying relatives if the support test is met. Example 3—earned income credit claimed. The facts are the same as in Exam- ple 2 except your friend had wages of $8,000 during the year and claimed the earned income credit on her return. Your friend's child is the qualifying child of another taxpayer (your friend), so you cannot claim your friend's child as your qualifying relative. Page 18 Publication 501 (2014)