EITC for a permanently disabled adult child: the any-age rule

Three ways to pass the age test

The age test in Rule 8 offers three paths. The child can be under 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly). Or the child can be under 24 at year end, a full-time student, and younger than you or your spouse. Or the child can be any age and permanently and totally disabled. The third path has no "younger than you" requirement in the publication, unlike the first two. The publication also reminds you to check the box on line 6 of the Dependents section if the child is a full-time student or disabled. A 19-year-old, non-student, non-disabled child fails: its Example 1 has a child who turned 19 on December 10 and is not a qualifying child because not under 19 at year end.

What permanently and totally disabled means

Both parts must be true. The child cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition, and a doctor determines that the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year, or can lead to death. Substantial gainful activity means performing significant duties over a reasonable period while working for pay or profit, or in work generally done for pay or profit. Full-time work, or part-time work done at an employer's convenience, in a competitive work situation for at least the minimum wage shows the child can engage in it. Substantial gainful activity is not work done to take care of yourself or your home, nor unpaid work on hobbies, institutional therapy or training, school attendance, clubs and social programs, though doing those may show the ability. The fact the child has not worked for some time does not by itself prove the child cannot. The publication points to the Instructions for Schedule R for examples.

The other tests still apply

Disability only satisfies the age test. The child must still be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child or a descendant, or your sibling or a descendant of a sibling, must have lived with you in the United States for more than half the year (see our residency page), and must not file a joint return unless only for a refund of withheld or estimated tax. A married child is not your qualifying child unless you can claim the child as a dependent, or the only reason you cannot is that you let the child's other parent claim the child under the special rule for divorced or separated parents. And the child needs a valid SSN issued by the return due date for you to claim the higher credit; see the SSN page.

The other side: the adult who is a qualifying child

The same rule works in reverse and can block a disabled adult from claiming the credit. Rule 13, for taxpayers without a qualifying child, says you cannot be a qualifying child of another taxpayer, and the publication's example is a 26-year-old permanently and totally disabled person living with a parent all year, earning $5,000 at a community center and providing more than half of their own support. That person is the parent's qualifying child and cannot claim the credit, even if the parent cannot or does not claim it. The exception: if the parent is not required to file a return and does not file, or files only for a refund of withheld tax, the adult is not the parent's qualifying child and may claim the credit; the example with a 27-year-old earning $13,000 shows that.

Worked example

A single parent age 52 lives with a 30-year-old son who is permanently and totally disabled and earns $4,000 a year at a sheltered workshop. The son passes the age test by disability. He lived at home all year and is unmarried, so he passes residency and joint return. The parent can claim the credit with one qualifying child, subject to the one-child limits of $50,434 for earned income and AGI, and the son cannot claim a credit himself. In the checker, enter 30, leave the "younger" box clear and check disabled: it passes. Enter 30 with no disability and it fails.

When two people could claim

If another relative could also claim the child, the tiebreaker rules apply as described in our tiebreaker page. For the credit amount, use the EITC estimator. This page covers the EITC rule only; the dependency and child tax credit tests differ.

Sources

• IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC) (2025): Rule 8, Age Test (Permanently and totally disabled, Substantial gainful activity), Joint Return Test (Married child); Rule 10; Rule 13, Example and Examples 1 to 3. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 596 (2025), Earned Income Credit (EIC), for use in preparing 2025 returns. Dollar amounts and dates on this page are the 2025 figures printed in that edition; they change by tax year, so check the current publication and form instructions for the year you file. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.