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Improper Claims If you erroneously claim the CTC, ODC, or ACTC even though you are not eligible for the credit, and it is later determined that your error was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the CTC, ODC, or ACTC rules, you will not be allowed to claim any of these credits for 2 years. If it is determined that your error was due to fraud, you will not be allowed to claim any of these credits for 10 years. You may also have to pay penalties. Form 8862 may be required. If your CTC, ODC, or ACTC for a year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error, you must attach Form 8862 to your tax return to claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC unless an exception applies. See Form 8862, Infor- mation to Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance, and its instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies. Child Tax Credit (CTC) This credit is for individuals who claim a child as a de- pendent if the child meets additional conditions (descri- bed later). It is in addition to the credit for child and de- pendent care expenses (on Schedule 3 (Form 1040), line 2, and the earned income credit (on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 27)). The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is $2,000 for each child who qualifies you for the CTC. But, see Limits on the CTC and ODC, later. For more information about claiming the CTC, see Claiming the CTC and ODC, later. Qualifying Child for the CTC A child qualifies you for the CTC if the child meets all of the following conditions. 1. The child is your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible fos- ter child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew). 2. The child was under age 17 at the end of 2020. 3. The child did not provide over half of his or her own support for 2020. 4. The child lived with you for more than half of 2020 (see Exceptions to time lived with you, later). 5. The child is claimed as a dependent on your return. See Pub. 501 for more information about claiming someone as a dependent. 6. The child does not file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid). 7. The child was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. For more information, see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child, later. Example. Your son turned 17 on December 30, 2020. He is a citizen of the United States and you claimed him as a dependent on your return. You cannot use him to claim the CTC because he was not under age 17 at the end of 2020. If your child is age 17 or older at the end of 2020, see Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), later. Adopted child. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and your adop- ted child lived with you all year as a member of your household in 2020, that child meets condition (7), earlier, to be a qualifying child for the CTC (or condition (3), later, to be a qualifying person for the ODC). Exceptions to time lived with you. A child is consid- ered to have lived with you for more than half of 2020 if the child was born or died in 2020 and your home was this child's home for more than half the time he or she was alive. Temporary absences by you or the child for special circumstances, such as school, vacation, business, medi- cal care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility, count as time the child lived with you. There are also exceptions for kidnapped children and children of divorced or separated parents. For details, see your tax return instructions for column (4) of the section on Dependents. Qualifying child of more than one person. Special rules apply if a child is the qualifying child of more than one person. For details, see your tax return instructions for column (4) of the section on Dependents, and Pub. 501. Required SSN In addition to being a qualifying child for the CTC (defined earlier), your child must have the required SSN. The re- quired SSN is one that is valid for employment and is is- sued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your 2020 return (including extensions). If your child was a U.S. citizen when the child received the SSN, the SSN is valid for employment. If “Not Valid for Employment” is printed on your child's social security card and your child's immigration status has changed so that your child is now a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, ask the SSA for a new social security card without the legend. However, if “Valid for Work Only With DHS Authorization” is printed on your child's social security card, your child has the required SSN only as long as the DHS authoriza- tion is valid. If your dependent child was born and died in 2020 and you do not have an SSN for the child, enter “Died” in col- umn (2) of the Dependents section of your tax return and include a copy of the child's birth certificate, death TIP Publication 972 (2020) Page 3