View Full Version : Are there deductions for death of a child?


uwmbjn
We had a baby in 2004 and he only lived for a day due to complications. I was wondering if there were any tax deductions we can use. I am not trying to take advantage of my sons death, however we are still trying to pay off his medical bills and funeral bills, and would like to know if I should take my taxes to a professional instead of doing them myself this year.

Our bills did not come to 7.5 of our income, but i'm not sure if we can use child credit, or something like that.

financialadvice
I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot imagine going through that trauma.

You can claim your son as a dependent (even without a SSN) - See page 18 of this publication - it specifies your situation in the middle column.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

I believe you may also be able to take the child tax credit - but I couldn't find a publication to specifically confirm this. You pass all tests, so I can't see why you couldn't take it. See Tax Topic 606 to read the requirements:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc606.html

I hope this helps.

I wish you and your wife all the best.