Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Certification Practice Test

Which criteria must be met for a child to be considered a qualifying child for tax benefits?

1. Relationship and age

2. Residence and support

3. All of the above

4. Income and filing status

The correct answer is: All of the above

A child must meet several criteria to be considered a qualifying child for tax benefits, which encompass a combination of relationship, age, residence, and support requirements. The inclusion of all these factors is critical for determining eligibility for specific credits and deductions, such as the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. The relationship criterion requires the child to be the taxpayer's son, daughter, stepchild, adopted child, or eligible foster child. The age criterion specifies that the child must be under a certain age, typically under 19 at the end of the year, or a full-time student under 24, ensuring that younger dependents qualify for the tax benefits intended for them. Residence is also essential; the child must live with the taxpayer for more than half of the year. Lastly, the support criterion indicates that the taxpayer must provide more than half of the child's financial support during the year. All these conditions are interrelated and jointly ensure that the taxpayer has a genuine and significant personal connection to the child while also being financially responsible for them. Therefore, since all these requirements must be satisfied concurrently, the correct answer captures the comprehensive nature of the qualifying child's definition for tax benefits.