EITC tiebreaker rules when two people claim the same child

Five benefits, one claimant

Rule 9 of Publication 596 begins with the principle that causes most disputes: when a child meets the qualifying child tests for more than one person, only one person can treat the child as a qualifying child for the five related benefits. They are the child tax credit, credit for other dependents and additional child tax credit; head of household filing status; the credit for child and dependent care expenses; the exclusion for dependent care benefits; and the earned income credit. The publication says you and the other person cannot agree to divide those benefits between you, and that the person who loses cannot take any of them unless they have a different qualifying child. The tiebreaker rules do not apply if the other person is your spouse and you file a joint return.

The tiebreaker order

The publication defines "parent" for these rules as a biological or adoptive parent; it excludes a stepparent or foster parent unless that person adopted the child. The rules then run in order. If only one of the people is the child's parent, the child is treated as the qualifying child of that parent. If the parents file a joint return together and can claim the child, the child is the qualifying child of the parents. If the parents do not file together but both claim the child, the IRS treats the child as the qualifying child of the parent the child lived with for the longer period, and if the time was equal, the parent with the higher AGI. If no parent can claim the child, it goes to the person with the highest AGI. If a parent can claim the child but no parent does, the child is the qualifying child of the person with the highest AGI, but only if that person's AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any parent who could claim.

Worked example 1: parent and grandparent

Take the publication's Example 1. You are 25, unmarried, with AGI $9,000, and live with your 2-year-old child and your parent, whose AGI is $22,000. The child is a qualifying child of both of you. If you do not claim the child, your parent can claim the child, since your parent's AGI is higher than yours (enter that case in the checker with only the other person claiming and it returns the other person). In Example 2 your AGI is $25,000; your parent's is not higher than yours, so your parent cannot claim even if you do not, and only you can. In Example 3 you both claim; as the parent you win and the IRS will disallow your parent's claim.

Worked example 2: parents who are not married

In Example 10 an unmarried couple lives together all year with a 5-year-old. Her AGI is $12,000 and the other parent's is $14,000. If the higher earner agrees to let the lower one claim and does not claim, the lower one can claim. In Example 11 both claim: the child lived with each equally for the whole year, so the higher AGI, $14,000, wins, and the other parent may claim the credit without a qualifying child. In Example 9, separated parents each claim the child: the child lived with one longer, so that one wins, even though neither can then take the credit as separated spouses filing separately. Always test time first, then AGI.

When no parent is involved

In Example 12, you and your parent live with your sibling's child Morgan all year. You are 25 with AGI $9,300; your parent's AGI is $15,000. Morgan's own parents do not live with you and have AGI under $9,000, below yours. Neither of you is a parent, so the higher AGI wins: your parent. The same example shows why the final rule is strict: a non-parent can take priority over the parents only by having a higher AGI than any parent who could claim.

If you lose the tiebreaker

You can still look for another route. If your qualifying child is treated as the qualifying child of another person under the tiebreaker rules, you may be able to take the credit using a different qualifying child, or using the rules for people without a qualifying child (age 25 to 64 and so on). If the other person cannot claim the credit because they are ineligible or their earned income or AGI is too high, you may treat the child as your qualifying child (Examples 6 and 7), but not if that other person uses the child for any of the other five benefits. For divorced or separated parents, the separate special rule for custodial and noncustodial parents applies first; for the credit only the custodial parent, if eligible, or another eligible taxpayer can claim. See the no-child rules and the separated spouse rule.

Sources

• IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit (EIC) (2025): Rule 9, Your Qualifying Child Cannot Be Used by More Than One Person To Claim the EIC: Tiebreaker rules, If the other person cannot claim the EIC, Examples 1 to 12, Special rule for divorced or separated parents. 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.