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taxpayer is entitled to a deduction of the taxable year for such
person under section 151.
Because we held above that petitioner is not entitled to a
deduction for the children under the provisions of sections 151
and 152, petitioner is not entitled to head of household status.1
Therefore, respondent is sustained on this issue.
Earned Income Credit
The relevant parts of section 32 provide that an individual
is eligible for the earned income credit if the individual has a
“qualifying child”. A qualifying child is one who satisfies a
relationship test, a residency test, an age test, and an
identification requirement. See sec. 32(c)(3).
Under the relationship test, the qualifying child must be a
son or daughter, a stepson or stepdaughter, or a foster child of
the taxpayer. See sec. 32(c)(3)(A). On his returns, petitioner
claimed the children as stepdaughters. We disagree with
petitioner’s characterization. Petitioner was never married to
the children’s mother, nor was he ever recognized as their legal
guardian.
To be considered an “eligible foster child”, petitioner must
1 A taxpayer will not be considered to be a head of
household by reason of an individual who would not be a dependent
for the taxable year but for sec. 152(a)(9). See sec.
2(b)(3)(B)(i). Thus, even if we had held that petitioner is
entitled to dependency exemption deductions for Mr. Elms,
petitioner would still not qualify as a head of household.
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Last modified: May 25, 2011