# any Tax ded.for a qualifying child who's not a Dependent?



## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Hi,

My 2-year old son is French, Not a U.S. citizen or alien resident (I got my U.S. citizenship through naturalization before that he was born). He lives with me and his french father the whole year.
I looked up form 1040 instructions (Line 6c) which says that my son is considered a Qualifying child but Not Dependent.

1-Can I ask for Tax deduction regarding his day care expenses or other things if he is not considered a dependent?
2-He is kept by a nanny OUT of my place 5 days a week.may i ask for any deduction by stating that this nanny is my home employee, if the answer to my first question is No?

thanks for any insight

Pitty


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You need to look at IRS publication 503. Though I suspect you may not be able to take the credit given this:



> A qualifying person is:
> 
> *Your qualifying child who is your dependent* and who was under age 13 when the care was provided (but see Child of divorced or separated parents or parents living apart , later),


But take a look at the whole publication to be sure.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

If you can get your child's U.S. citizenship documented (assuming your child is a U.S. citizen), this'll presumably change. It costs $100 to do that.


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## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Thank you. the problem for him in becoming a U.S. citizen is "even though he is less than 2 year old", since I'm a U.S. citizen and not an alien resident, he needs a visa to enter the U.S. but if i was a LPR, he could enter with me to the U.S. to become at least an LPR. because:

If the a child is born to LPR parents during a temporary visit abroad, as long as the child returns to the US with the mother during her first trip back to the US and before the child turns 2, the child automatically becomes a legal permanent resident on entry.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm not following what you wrote. You became a U.S. citizen before your child was born. Thus your child had a U.S. citizen parent when your child was born. Wasn't your child born a U.S. citizen? It's at least somewhat unusual for a naturalized U.S. citizen to give birth to a child overseas who isn't born a U.S. citizen. Possible but unusual.

You can review the criteria here and find the situation that applies to you and your child.

If your child was born a U.S. citizen then you would document your child's U.S. citizenship by obtaining a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) (and U.S. Social Security Number) from your nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. You can also optionally apply to obtain a U.S. passport for a U.S. citizen child. All U.S. citizens, including children, can only legally enter the United States with a U.S. passport, not a foreign passport. So if your child is a U.S. citizen and will be traveling to the United States, or could in an emergency, then you should obtain a U.S. passport for him/her.


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## JustLurking (Mar 25, 2015)

BBCWatcher said:


> I'm not following what you wrote. You became a U.S. citizen before your child was born. ...


Not so sure. I parsed the original "I got my U.S. citizenship through naturalization before that he was born" as "_I got my U.S. citizenship through naturalization. Before that, he was born._"

Pitty, have I got that right?


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## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Can I declare my "Assistant Maternelle" as a home employee even though she kept my son in her place not in mine? if so is it in deduction part of 1040, or in another form as a credit....?


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## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Actually, I checked several forums about my son's situation last year and i came up with this: a U.S. citizen mother should live at least 3 years in the U.S.after getting her naturalization in order to be able to transfer U.S. customs & traditions before the child is born outside of the U.S.. otherise child can not get U.S. citizenship.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

OK, to summarize - you are a US citizen by naturalization, before your son was born.

The child was NOT born in the US, so does not get US citizenship by droit de sol (i.e being born there).

How long did you live in the US after obtaining your US citizenship? (This is probably the key thing as far as your child's citizenship is concerned.)

OK, and the child is not your dependent - which apparently means that you and his French father are separated. Is that correct?

One question in all this is, what income are you reporting on your US taxes? Because basically, you probably shouldn't have to pay any US taxes, so chances are, you don't need (and couldn't deduct) any sort of child care expenses on your return. The key issue, I guess, is going to be whether or not you qualify to claim one of the child care credits and get money back from the IRS. But that could be very iffy, given that the child is not your dependent.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Pitty said:


> Actually, I checked several forums about my son's situation last year and i came up with this: a U.S. citizen mother should live at least 3 years in the U.S.after getting her naturalization in order to be able to transfer U.S. customs & traditions before the child is born outside of the U.S.. otherise child can not get U.S. citizenship.


If you didn't find that information at either USCIS's or the U.S. State Department's Web site, then it isn't official information and may not be accurate. And your description certainly doesn't seem accurate.

I provided a link to the official information. Please review that.

You said you are a naturalized U.S. citizen, which generally implies you lived in the United States for at least 5 years. Assuming your husband is not a U.S. citizen -- please correct that assumption if wrong -- how long did you live in the United States? Also, how long did you live in the United States after your 14th birthday? For purposes of answering these two questions, include your legal residence in the U.S. both before and after you naturalized, and also include any time you spent outside the United States serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, employed with the U.S. government, or employed with an international organization (e.g. the American Red Cross -- please specify the organization). Also count any such time if you were the unmarried daughter accompanying a parent serving in any of these roles.


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## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Bevdeforges said:


> OK, to summarize - you are a US citizen by naturalization, before your son was born.
> 
> The child was NOT born in the US, so does not get US citizenship by droit de sol (i.e being born there).
> 
> ...


That's correct, the outcome is , i will fill out FEIE so no need to go further in details.

I appreciate the time you spend to respnd my question in this rainy WE.


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## Pitty (Apr 25, 2016)

Thank you very much.

Last year I checked out the laws regarding my child citizenship and also asked in immihelp my question which turned out to be the same. I tried minutes ago to find this link to give you with no succes.

try to find it another time and send it to you if you're interested


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