How to Qualify a Child for a Tax Rebate

A child is considered your dependent until she marries or begins filing her own tax returns.

A tax rebate is, by IRS definition, an amount of tax money paid that is returned to the individual who paid it. A tax rebate is not a tax refund, and the two should not be confused. If the individual in question did not pay taxes during the year, that person is not entitled to and will not receive a tax rebate. He may receive a refundable tax credit--the Earned Income Credit is one example. When it comes to a child receiving a tax rebate, odds are the child won't qualify for the rebate. However, there are some exceptions.

Instructions

1. 

   Compare your tax return to Notice #1378.

   Examine your 2008 tax return--the Recovery Rebate Credit was issued in 2008--and until 2011, It is possible to file an amended return if it is to your advantage to do so. Typically, a parent receives more of an exemption by claiming the child as a dependent than the child would receive with the tax rebate. Examine your tax return (Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ) and compare it to the Notice #1378, which was the Economic Stimulus Payment notice. If the amount you received, found on line 70 of Form 1040, is less than the amount stated on Notice #1378, the credit may have been taken to pay previous taxes owed.

2. 

   Weigh out the benefits to filing an Amended Return.

   File an amended return for your child if it is to your advantage. Filing an amended return may result in losing more than $3,000 in tax exemption for your child to receive a $600 rebate. If that is not the case, examine your 2008 return and look for the economic stimulus payment on the first page of your tax return. If you did not receive a $200 credit for the child in question, that will be reflected here. Each taxpayer should have received $600 with another $200 per dependent.

3. 

   Your child having a baby is another reason they would qualify for the tax rebate.

   Take advantage of the loophole that grants a tax rebate to those who did not receive their share of the economic stimulus payment in 2007. if your child was claimed as a dependent, he may not have been counted as having received a stimulus payment. If the child claimed his own exemption in 2008, he may qualify for the tax rebate--if, for example, he had a child in 2008 and gained a dependent of his own, or if he did not have a Social Security number in 2007 but received on in 2008, he could qualify to receive up to the $600 rebate. If you claimed him as a dependent in 2007 and could not claim them in 2008 on yours or on another persons' return.

4. 

   Your child only has until 2011 to file an amended return.

   Claim the rebate credit on your 2008 federal taxes. Your child must file Form 1040X if she did not claim the rebate credit on the first return. It is on line 70 of the 2008 Form 1040. There is a three-year time limit for receiving a refund from the IRS on a prior year return, so 2011 will be the last year available to amend a 2008 return. Since it is a prior year return, electronic filing will not be an option. The IRS can figure the rebate credit for your child, or you may advise her to use a professional tax preparer.

References

• Internal Revenue Service: Recovery Rebate Credit Information Center