之前看美國報稅的規定,上面都說non-resident alien不能扶養配偶跟子女,所以一直以為non-resident alien即使有在美國出生的子女,也得跟單身的人一樣,沒有任何抵扣或減免。今年經由好友P的提醒,才發現原來non-resident alien如果有美國出生的小孩,是可以享有child tax credit的(註1),不過美國出生的子女還是一樣不能算扶養的dependent,不能算exemptions。

填表方式如下:
1. 請使用1040NR,而非1040NR-EZ
2. line 7c的地方請不要填入子女的名稱,因為non-resident alien(特定國家除外)是不能claim dependent的,所以不能claim exemption
3. 依照instruction計算child tax credit,並填入line 47
4. 附上Form 8901

計算child tax credit的方式如下:
This credit is for people who have a qualifying child as defined in the instructions for line 7c, line (4), on page 8. It is in addition to the credit for child and dependent care expenses on Form 1040NR, line 45.

何謂qualifying child?
A qualifying child is a child who:
1. Is a United States citizen, a United States resident, or a national of the United States,
2. Is under age 17 at the end of the calendar year in which your tax year begins,
3. Is your son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, legally adopted child, or a child placed with you for legal adoption, brother, sister, stepbrother stepsister, foster child placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by a court order, or a descendant of any such person, and who
4. Shares with you the same principal place of abode for more than one-half of the tax year, or is treated as your qualifying child under the special rule for parents who are divorced, separated, or living apart. For more information, refer to Publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.

所以美國出生且跟父母同住的寶寶可以算qualifying child。

Three steps to take the child tax credit.
1. Make sure you have a qualifying child for the child tax credit (defined in the instructions for line 7c, column (4), on page 8).
2. Make sure that for each qualifying child you either checked the box on Form 1040NR, line 7c, column (4), or completed Form 8901 (if the child is not your dependent).
3. Answer the questions in the Who Must Use Pub. 972 chart on page 19 to see if you can use the Child Tax Credit Worksheet on page 19 to figure your credit or if you must use Pub. 972.

以留學生在美國生小孩為例,應符合第一項與第二項規定,然後需要用Who Must Use Pub. 972 chart來決定是否可以用Child Tax Credit Worksheet計算Child Tax Credit。

Who Must Use Pub. 972—Line 47
1. Is the amount on Form 1040NR, line 36, more than the amount shown below for your filing status?
    *Filing status 1, 2, or 6—$75,000
    *Filing status 3, 4, or 5—$55,000
      □ Yes. Stop. You must use Pub. 972 to figure your credit.
      □ No. Go to line 2.
2.  Are you claiming any of the following credits?
    *Mortgage interest credit, Form 8396.
    *Adoption credit, Form 8839.
    *District of Columbia first-time homebuyer credit, Form 8859.
    *Residential energy efficient property credit, Form 5695.
      □ Yes. Stop. You must use Pub. 972 to figure your child tax credit. You also will need the form(s) listed above for any credit(s) you are claiming.
      □ No. Use the worksheet on this page to figure your child tax credit.

台灣來的留學生的filing status應該是5,如果收入不到$55,000,且沒有claim上述credit,則可以用Instructions for 1040NR中第19頁的Child Tax Credit Worksheet計算Child Tax Credit。

Child Tax Credit Worksheet—Line 47
*To be a qualifying child for the child tax credit, the child must be under age 17 at the end of 2008 and meet the other requirements listed in the instructions for line 7c, column (4), on page 8.
*Do not use this worksheet if you answered “Yes” to question 1 or 2 in Who Must Use Pub. 972 above. Instead, use Pub. 972.
1. Number of qualifying children: X $1,000. Enter the result                           1.      
2. Enter the amount from Form 1040NR, line 43                                             2.      
3. Enter the total of the amounts from Form 1040NR, lines 44, 45 and 46        3.      
4. Are the amounts on lines 2 and 3 the same?
Yes. STOP. You cannot take this credit because there is no tax to reduce. However, you may be able to take the additional child tax credit. See the TIP below.
No. Subtract line 3 from line 2                                                                       4.          
5. Is the amount on line 1 more than the amount on line 4?
    Yes. Enter the amount from line 4. Also, you may be able to take the additional child tax credit. See the TIP below.
    No. Enter the amount from line 1                                                                  5.          
    This is your child tax credit. Enter this amount on Form 1040NR, line 47.
            
TIP: You may be able to take the additional child tax credit on Form 1040NR, line 61, if you answered “Yes” on line 4 or line 5 above.
    *First, complete your Form 1040NR through line 60.
    *Then, use Form 8812 to figure any additional child tax credit.

一般來說留學生如果沒有很多收入,也沒有claim其他的tax credit,預繳的稅超過$1000的情況下,child tax credit應該是$1000。也就是說如果你預繳的稅不到$1000也是退不了那麼多的。

 

2009/04/05補充

今年我本來打算用CINTAX列印出來的表就直接拿去報稅,連說明都懶得再看了。後來想想還是把instructions for Form 1040NR翻開來,至少看一下"what's new for 2008"及"what's new for 2009"。大部分好像都跟我沒什麼關係,但是突然看到"qualifying child definition revised",趕快仔細來瞧瞧!

最後一行寫到:

Your child is a qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit only if you can and do claim an exemption for him or her.

啊?那意思是明年報稅的時候,不能claim眷屬的exemption的台灣同學也不能有child tax credit了嗎?有沒有哪位網友可以出來解答一下呢?

 

 

附註:美國出生的子女因為不是exempt individual,所以也不需要幫他們填Form 8843。

註1:根據學校IRS的說明,non-resident alien可以claim child tax credit是從2005年開始的新規定。

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