Topic 357 – Tax Information for Parents of Kidnapped Children

You may claim a kidnapped child as your dependent if the following requirements

are met:

The child must be presumed by law enforcement to have been kidnapped by

someone who is not a member of your family or a member of the child's family,

and The child had, for the taxable year in which the kidnapping occurred,

the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of

the portion of such year before the date of kidnapping.

If both of these requirements are met, the child may meet the requirements

for purposes of determining:

The dependency exemption

The child tax credit, and

Head of household or qualifying widow(er) with dependent child filing

status.

This tax treatment will cease to apply as of your first tax year beginning

after the calendar year in which either there is a determination that the

child is dead or the child would have reached age 18, whichever occurs first.

For more information, refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard

Deduction, and Filing Information.

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