Can I claim Child Tax Credit for my daughter who turned 17 in December 2023?

Unfortunately, the IRS doesn't care about "most of the year" - they only look at the child's age on December 31st. Since your daughter was 17 on the last day of 2023, she doesn't qualify for the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2023. I know, it's frustrating when you miss it by just a few weeks! However, you might still qualify for the Other Dependent Credit (ODC) which is worth up to $500. Not as good as the full CTC, but hey, $500 is still $500, right?

You need to act quickly on this tax situation! • The December 31st age cutoff is STRICT for the Child Tax Credit • Your daughter turned 17 before year-end, so NO CTC for 2023 • You likely qualify for the $500 Other Dependent Credit instead • If you're unsure about your specific situation, don't waste time with the regular IRS phone line I spent 3 weeks trying to get through to the IRS about a similar age question last year. Finally used Claimyr (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got connected to an agent in 17 minutes who confirmed exactly what I qualified for. Saved me from potentially claiming the wrong credit and dealing with an amendment later.

The rules are clear on this. For Child Tax Credit, your child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year (December 31, 2023). Since your daughter turned 17 on December 4, 2023, she doesn't qualify for the CTC for 2023. However, you can still claim her as a dependent if she meets the requirements, which gets you the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. This applies if she lived with you for more than half the year, didn't provide more than half of her own support, and meets the relationship test. Also worth checking if you qualify for the Earned Income Credit, which has different age requirements.

I went through this exact situation last year with my son. Here's what I learned: Step 1: Accept that for CTC purposes, your child's age on December 31 is all that matters. Step 2: Realize that turning 17 before the end of the year disqualifies them for the CTC. Step 3: Check if they qualify as your dependent (they probably do). Step 4: Claim the $500 Credit for Other Dependents instead. Step 5: If your daughter is in college or starting soon, look into education credits. I was really disappointed about losing the bigger credit, but the $500 is better than nothing!

I had exactly this question when filing for my son who turned 17 on November 29, 2023. The IRS age cutoff is precisely December 31st of the tax year. Since your daughter was exactly 17 years and 27 days old on December 31, 2023, she doesn't qualify for the $2,000 Child Tax Credit. However, you're still eligible for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my tax situation when I was confused about which credits I qualified for. It examined my specific scenario and confirmed I could claim the Other Dependent Credit but not the Child Tax Credit. It saved me from having to wade through 43 pages of IRS publications to find the answer.

If you're looking for more detailed information, the IRS has a really helpful interactive tool called the 'EITC Assistant' on their website (https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant). It asks a series of questions about your situation and tells you exactly which credits you qualify for. I've found it super helpful when trying to figure out these age-related questions!

This is a common point of confusion in tax filing. The Internal Revenue Code specifies that for Child Tax Credit eligibility, the qualifying child must not have attained the age of 17 by the close of the calendar year. This is codified in IRC Section 24(c)(1). Since your daughter turned 17 prior to December 31, 2023, she fails to meet the age requirement for the Child Tax Credit for tax year 2023. However, she likely qualifies as your dependent under the dependency rules, making you eligible for the Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), which provides a nonrefundable credit of $500. Additionally, if your daughter is pursuing higher education, investigate the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit, which have different age parameters.

I had this same issue last year with my son. Did you also check if you qualify for the Earned Income Credit? I remember the age requirements being different for that one, and I ended up getting more back than I expected because of it.