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The other person can’t take any of these benefits based on this qualifying child. In other words, you and the other person can’t agree to divide these tax benefits between you. The other person can’t take any of these tax benefits unless he or she has a different qualifying child. The tiebreaker rules, which follow, explain who, if any- one, can claim the EIC when more than one person has the same qualifying child. However, the tiebreaker rules don't apply if the other person is your spouse and you file a joint return. Tiebreaker rules. To determine which person can treat the child as a qualifying child to claim the six tax benefits just listed, the following tiebreaker rules apply. • If only one of the persons is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parent. • If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the parents. • If the parents don't file a joint return together but both parents claim the child as a qualifying child, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent with whom the child lived for the longer period of time during the year. If the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the IRS will treat the child as the qualifying child of the parent who had the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) for the year. • If no parent can claim the child as a qualifying child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the highest AGI for the year. • If a parent can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent does so claim the child, the child is treated as the qualifying child of the person who had the high- est AGI for the year, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's pa- rents who can claim the child. If your qualifying child is treated under the tie- breaker rules as the qualifying child of another person for 2021, you may be able to take the EIC using the rules in chapter 3 for taxpayers who don't have a qualifying child. Subject to these tiebreaker rules, you and the other person may be able to choose which of you claims the child as a qualifying child. See Examples 1 through 12. If you can’t claim the EIC because your qualifying child is treated under the tiebreaker rules as the qualifying child of another person for 2021, you may be able to take the EIC using a different qualifying child, or take the EIC using the rules in chapter 3 for people who don't have a qualify- ing child. If the other person cannot claim the EIC. If you and someone else have the same qualifying child but the other person can’t claim the EIC because he or she isn't eligible or his or her earned income or AGI is too high, you may be able to treat the child as a qualifying child. See Examples 6 and 7. But you can’t treat the child as a qualifying child to claim the EIC if the other person uses the child to claim TIP any of the other five tax benefits listed earlier in this chap- ter. Examples. The following examples may help you in de- termining whether you can claim the EIC when you and someone else have the same qualifying child. Example 1—Child lived with parent and grandpar- ent. You and your 2-year-old son Jimmy lived with your mother all year. You are 25 years old, unmarried, and your AGI is $9,000. Your only income was $9,000 from a part-time job. Your mother's only income was $22,000 from her job, and her AGI is $22,000. Jimmy's father did not live with you or Jimmy. The special rule explained later for divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) doesn't apply. Jimmy is a qualifying child of both you and your mother because he meets the relationship, age, residency, and joint return tests for both you and your mother. However, only one of you can treat him as a quali- fying child to claim the EIC (and the other tax benefits lis- ted earlier in this chapter for which that person qualifies). He isn't a qualifying child of anyone else, including his fa- ther. If you don't claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for the EIC or any of the other tax benefits listed earlier, your mother can treat him as a qualifying child to claim the EIC (and any of the other tax benefits listed earlier for which she qualifies). Example 2—Parent has higher AGI than grandpar- ent. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except your AGI is $25,000. Because your mother's AGI isn't higher than yours, she can’t claim Jimmy as a qualifying child. Only you can claim him. Example 3—Two persons claim same child. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you and your mother both claim Jimmy as a qualifying child. In this case, you as the child's parent will be the only one allowed to claim Jimmy as a qualifying child for the EIC and the other tax benefits listed earlier for which you qualify. The IRS will disallow your mother's claim to the EIC and any of the other tax benefits listed earlier based on Jimmy. Your mother can't take the EIC for a taxpayer without a qualify- ing child because her AGI is more than $21,430. Example 4—Qualifying children split between two persons. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you also have two other young children who are quali- fying children of both you and your mother. Only one of you can claim each child. However, if your mother's AGI is higher than yours, you can allow your mother to claim one or more of the children. For example, if you claim one child, your mother can claim the other two. Example 5—Taxpayer who is a qualifying child. The facts are the same as in Example 1 except that you are only 18 years old. This means you are a qualifying child of your mother. Because of Rule 10, discussed next, you can’t claim the EIC and can’t claim your son as a qual- ifying child. Only your mother may be able to treat Jimmy as a qualifying child to claim the EIC. If your mother meets all the other requirements for claiming the EIC and you Page 14 Chapter 2 Rules if You Have a Qualifying Child