Tax Law and News Tax tips for new parents Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Written by Intuit Accountants Team Modified Jul 26, 2023 2 min read Kids are expensive. Whether someone just brought a bundle of joy home from the hospital, adopted a teen from foster care, or raising their grandchild, several tax breaks can help. Share these tips with your clients. Get the child a Social Security number or ITIN To claim parental tax breaks, the taxpayer must have their child or dependent’s Social Security number, Adoption Tax Identification Number or Individual Tax Identification number (ITIN). Confirming a child’s birth is the only way the IRS can verify that the parent is eligible for the credits and deductions they claim on their tax return. Check withholding A new family member might make taxpayers eligible for new credits and deductions, which can greatly change their tax liability. They can use the IRS Withholding Estimator to check their withholding. Taxpayers should provide their employer with an updated Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, if they want to change how much tax is withheld from their paycheck. Check eligibility for these tax credits and deductions Child Tax Credit: Taxpayers who claim at least one child as their dependent on their tax return may be eligible for the Child Tax Credit. For help figuring out if a child qualifies for this credit, taxpayers can check Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents? Child and Dependent Care Credit: If taxpayers paid someone to take care of their children or another member of their household while they work, they may qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC) regardless of their income. Taxpayers who pay for daycare expenses may be eligible to claim up to 35% of their daycare expenses with certain limits. Adoption Tax Credit: This credit lets families who are in the adoption process during the tax-year claim eligible adoption expenses for each eligible child. Taxpayers can apply the credit to international, domestic, private and public foster care adoptions. Earned Income Tax Credit: The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) helps low- to moderate-income families get a tax break. If they qualify, taxpayers can use the credit to reduce the taxes they owe, and maybe increase their tax refund. Credit for Other Dependents: Taxpayers with dependents who don’t qualify for the Child Tax Credit may be able to claim the Credit for Other Dependents. Taxpayers can use the Does My Child/Dependent Qualify for the Child Tax Credit or the Credit for Other Dependents tool on IRS.gov to help determine if they are eligible to claim the credit. They can claim this credit in addition to the CDCC and the EITC. Previous Post Tax considerations for separating or divorcing Next Post Summer activities and tax year 2023 Written by Intuit Accountants Team The Intuit® Accountants team provides ProConnect™ Tax, Lacerte® Tax, ProSeries® Tax, and add-on software and services to enable workflow for its customers. Visit us at https://proconnect.intuit.com, or follow us on Twitter @IntuitAccts. More from Intuit Accountants Team Comments are closed. Browse Related Articles Advisory Services How tax pros work with controllers vs CFOs Advisory Services Helping clients with healthcare planning Practice Management Reshaping accounting: Millennials and Gen Zs Tax Law and News Tax relief for victims of Hurricane Helene Workflow tools 3 guides to moving your clients to QuickBooks® Online Practice Management Intuit introduces Intuit® Enterprise Suite Practice Management Partnering to power prosperity: Intuit and the accounti… Advisory Services 7 Intuit® Tax Advisor updates Advisory Services Debunking 3 common myths about reasonable comp Tax Law and News 529 Plans: Flexibility for education expenses