! and you do — Instruction 1040-SS — Instructions for Form

CAUTION “Died” on row (c) of Part I, line 2, and include a

copy of the child’s birth certificate, death certificate, or hospital records. The document must show the child was born alive.

A qualifying child for purposes of the ACTC is a child who meets all of the following requirements.

Is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew). A foster child is any child placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by a judgment, decree, or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

Note. Your adopted child is always treated as your own child. A child lawfully placed for legal adoption is treated the same as an adopted child.

Was under age 17 at the end of 2025.
Was younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) or was permanently and totally disabled (see Age Test in Pub. 501).
Didn’t provide over half of their own support for 2025.
Lived with you for more than half of 2025. If the child didn’t live with you for the required time, see Residency Test in Pub. 501.
Isn’t filing a joint tax return for 2025 or is filing a joint tax return for 2025 only to claim a refund of estimated

If it’s determined that your error was due to fraud, you will not be allowed to claim the CTC, the ODC, or the ACTC for 10 years. You may also have to pay penalties.

Form 8862 may be required. If your CTC (refundable or nonrefundable, depending on the tax year) or ACTC for any year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error, you must attach Form 8862 to your tax return to claim the ACTC, unless an exception applies. See Form 8862, Information To Claim

14 Instructions for Form 1040-SS (2025)

or withheld taxes. See the examples under Joint Return Test (To Be a Qualifying Child) in Pub. 501.

Was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or a U.S. resident alien.

Note. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and your adopted child lived with you all year as a member of your household, that child meets an exception and may be a qualifying child although the child is a nonresident alien. See Pub. 570 for more information.

Line 2 Enter the number of qualifying children from Part I, line 2 and multiply by $1,700.

Line 3 For purposes of figuring the ACTC, you must report all of your income, including income derived from sources within Puerto Rico that is excluded from U.S. tax because you were a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico.

Your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) includes items such as wages, interest, dividends, unemployment compensation, alimony received (see Caution, below), and taxable pensions and annuities. Include any profit or (loss) from Schedule C (Form 1040), line 31, and/or Schedule F (Form 1040), line 34. Also, include your taxable social security benefits. Use Worksheet 1 in Pub. 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits, to see if any of your benefits are taxable.

For more information on these and other types of income to include on line 3, see the Instructions for Form 1040. Also, see Pub. 570 for the rules to use in determining your Puerto Rico source income.

Only include amounts received as alimony or