Do I qualify for new tax credit?

Why do some children with ITIN numbers qualify for child tax credit and others do not?

• I know for a fact that two individuals have done their taxes, and both were U.S. Citizens. Both individuals had children with ITIN numbers under 16 years of age. One individual got the 1,000 additional child tax credit and the other did not. They both had zero taxable income. One individual got the 1,000. From my understanding if the children had ITIN numbers and were under 16 they did not under any circumstances qualify for the child tax credit. Could someone clarify this for me. The IRS does not answer questions like this unless it applies to you directly for some reason. Thanks! I have a very good understanding of taxes so you can use tax jargon if you need to.

• Answer:

  The EIC has to be a valid SSN. The CTC/ACTC does not. (Though congress may change that in the future.) In order to get CTC at all, the child must live with the parent and be claimed as a qualifying child. The child must also be a resident alien for tax purposes. (If the child lives in Mexco, they don't qualify.) With $0 taxable income, the ACTC comes into play. The EARNED income on the tax return most be more than $3000 to qualify for any ACTC. As for the IRS not answering questions for someone else. 1. You don't have all the facts and 2. It's not you. 3. The IRS doesn't have time for questions like yours. Edit, so you read the publication 972 and managed to not understand it. This despite the fact that you claim you do understand it. A child can be an illegal alien living the entire year in the US and thus meet the substantial presence test to be a resident alien for tax purposes. Since the child is not born in the US nor legally present in the US with a green card or work visa, they cannot qualify for an SSN. If they live with a parent who is also a resident alien, they can be claimed as a dependent. Since they live in the US, they meet the test for ACTC. Since they can't get an SSN, the parent must apply for an ITIN for them. If the child lives in Mexico and the parent lives in the US, but sends money back to Mexico to support them, the child can be claimed as a dependent for tax purposes under the qualifying relative rules (and get an ITIN), but NOT for ACTC.