- 6 -
no qualifying child and meets the requirements of section
32(c)(1)(A)(ii). Merriweather v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2002-
226; Briggsdaniels v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2001-321.
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). For the
taxable year in issue, Contrille and Brandon were not the
children or stepchildren of petitioner, and thus, would need to
be "eligible foster children" to be petitioner's qualifying
children. The term "eligible foster child" means an individual
who the taxpayer cares for as her own child and who has the same
principal place of abode as the taxpayer for the taxpayer's
entire taxable year. Sec. 32(c)(3)(B)(iii).
Neither the Code nor the regulations define how a taxpayer
cares for an individual as his or her own child. This Court has
indicated that merely contributing financially to the support of
an individual does not rise to the level of caring for the
individual as one's own child. See Mares v. Commissioner, T.C.
Memo. 2001-216; Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1997-544.
There is not sufficient evidence in the record indicating that
petitioner cared for Contrille and Brandon as her own children.
There were other members of petitioner's household, including
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011