Unique tax rules affect resource, foster, kinship care, and adoptive families.  The best information regarding these tax rules that we have seen so far this year come from  NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children’s website. Click here to see that information

We would like to share and link their statement on taxes that “The most authoritative source for information on whether foster parents can claim a foster child as a dependent is IRS publication 501, Exemptions, Standard Deduction and Filing Information.”

Please Note: Though IRS regulations clearly allow foster parents to claim the children in their care on their federal taxes, many are inadvertently prevented from doing so if they don’t have access to the child’s social security number. The Social Security Administration currently has a memorandum of understanding with the states that prevents the states from sharing social security numbers with foster parents in an effort to protect children’s privacy. Foster parents who don’t know the social security number of children in their care are unable to claim them on their taxes and the state is prevented from sharing the numbers.  This is an issue we need to be working with federal officials to resolve.