What is the credit for other dependents?

What the credit is

The credit for other dependents, called the ODC in the IRS publication, is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each eligible dependent. It sits in the same chapter as the child tax credit because both are figured on the same form, Schedule 8812 (Form 1040). The ODC is for the people the child tax credit leaves out. Common examples are a 17-year-old or college-age child, a parent or other relative you support, and a child who does not have the Social Security number the child tax credit requires.

A credit is subtracted straight from your tax, dollar for dollar, so a $500 credit is worth more than a $500 deduction. Pub. 17 also points out that the ODC is different from, and in addition to, the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

Who qualifies, in the publication’s words

A person qualifies you for the ODC only if all three of the following are true. First, the person is claimed as a dependent on your return, which means the dependency tests in chapter 3 have been met. Second, you cannot use the person to claim the child tax credit or the additional child tax credit. Third, the person was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. If the person is your adopted child, special rules apply: a child you adopted who lived with you all year as a member of your household in 2025 is treated as meeting the citizenship condition if you are a U.S. citizen or national.

Pub. 17 gives an example of the citizenship rule: your sibling’s 10-year-old child lives in Mexico and qualifies as your dependent, but is not a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien. You cannot use that child to claim the ODC. And you can never use the same person for both the child tax credit and the ODC; you must also not check both boxes for the same person in the Dependents section.

The ID number rule that catches people

Each person you use for the ODC must have a taxpayer identification number issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return, including extensions. The number can be a Social Security number, an individual taxpayer identification number, or an adoption taxpayer identification number. If the person was not issued one by then, you cannot use that person to claim the ODC on either your original or an amended 2025 return. If you apply for an ITIN or ATIN for the dependent on or before the due date and the IRS issues it as a result of that application, the IRS treats it as issued on time.

This is where the ODC does work the child tax credit cannot. A child under 17 who has an ITIN but not an SSN valid for work cannot generate the child tax credit, but if the child otherwise qualifies as your dependent and is a U.S. citizen, national or resident alien, the child can generate the $500 ODC. The calculator above sorts a child into the right credit using those exact tests.

Worked example

You have two dependents. Your son is 18 at the end of 2025, has an SSN, is a U.S. citizen and is your dependent. Your mother, a U.S. citizen with an SSN, is also your dependent. Neither can be used for the child tax credit, because neither is a child under 17. Each passes the ODC tests. Your credit is 2 × $500 = $1,000, before any income limit. Enter 18 for the age, tick the boxes and set the count to 2 in the checker: the result is the ODC and a maximum of $1,000.

Change one fact. If your daughter is 15, has an SSN valid for work issued before the due date, and meets the other child tests, she goes to the child tax credit instead (up to $2,200 for 2025). If she is 15 with only an ITIN, she goes to the ODC. Same family, different credit, purely because of the number.

Income limits

Pub. 17 states that your CTC or ODC may be reduced if your modified adjusted gross income is more than $400,000 for married filing jointly or $200,000 for all other filing statuses. For these credits, modified AGI is the amount on line 3 of Schedule 8812. The publication does not reproduce the reduction formula; it sends you to the Schedule 8812 instructions, and this page does the same rather than guess. Enter your income in the checker to see whether you are over the line.

How to claim it

File Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, and include the name and TIN of each dependent you claim the ODC for. File Schedule 8812. File Form 8862 as well if one of these credits was denied or reduced in an earlier year for a reason other than a math or clerical error, unless an exception applies. In the Dependents section, enter the dependent’s timely-issued TIN in row (3) and check the “Credit for other dependents” box in row (7). Claim a credit you are not entitled to through reckless or intentional disregard and you can be barred from claiming CTC, ACTC or ODC for 2 years; for fraud, the bar is 10 years.

Limits and next steps

Pub. 17 says the ODC cannot be used to figure the additional child tax credit, and only your child tax credit can be; if you claim the ODC but not the CTC you cannot claim the ACTC. Read the child tax credit refundability page for the refundable side, use the child tax credit calculator for children under 17, and see whether you can file as head of household with the filing status checker.

Sources

• IRS Publication 17, Your Federal Income Tax (2025): Chapter 14, Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents: Credit for Other Dependents (ODC); Taxpayer Identification Number Requirements; Limits on the CTC and ODC; Claiming the CTC and ODC; Improper Claims. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 17 (2025), Your Federal Income Tax, for use in preparing 2025 returns. Dollar limits and dates are for the 2025 tax year unless the text says otherwise; check the current publication and form instructions for your tax year. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.