Keep an eye on related tax provisions in your state. In the meantime, no matter which side of the abortion rights debate you are on, it’s important to know that since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion, more states may consider a fetus to be a legal “person.” Consequently, while Georgia is the first state to allow a tax deduction for a fetus, it may not be the last.Īs with any change to law, it is important to stay informed. Taxes and tax law can be complicated, so until Georgia issues additional guidance (which could happen later this year), it’s hard to know what the specific rules for claiming the unborn child deduction will be or how the fetus tax deduction might impact Georgians. For instance, in the case of miscarriage, would a fetus tax deduction granted early in the pregnancy later be disallowed? With surrogacy, would the surrogate be allowed to claim the unborn child deduction? Or would the fetus deduction be reserved for the legal parent or parents? Some common questions that have been posed by policymakers and media in response to Georgia’s law, involve situations like surrogacy and miscarriage.
In addition to potential tax confusion over what counts as a dependent, fetus tax deductions raise other tax-related questions.
Typically, people claim the same number of exemptions and dependents on their federal and state returns. For example, if you’re a pregnant Georgia resident and want to claim the unborn child tax deduction, the number of dependents that you would claim would vary between your federal and state tax returns.
The fact that unborn children don’t qualify as dependents on your federal taxes could be confusing for some people. There is also guidance on the IRS website to help you determine whether you are eligible to claim a dependent. The IRS has different tests that can help you determine whether someone is a qualifying relative. But a qualifying dependent can also be a child of any age that is permanently or totally disabled, or a so called “qualifying relative.” Instead, rules for claiming a dependent on your federal return depend on the IRS definition of a “ qualifying dependent.” That’s typically a child under 19 years of age, or under 24 years old, if they are a full-time student. Dependent Tax Creditsįederal law doesn’t recognize a fetus as a person for tax purposes, so a fetus can’t be claimed as a dependent on your federal tax return.ġ1 Education Tax Credits and Deductions for 2022 Unborn child deductions are claimed as “other adjustments” on Line 12 of Schedule 1 of Georgia’s 2022 tax Form 500. The state’s guidance points out that this can sometimes happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.
Under Georgia law, a doctor must determine whether a so-called “fetal heartbeat” can be detected. People in Georgia who want to claim their fetus, or fetuses, may have to submit medical records or other documentation to support the deductions. At this time, no information is available on how the unborn child deduction will apply after 2022. The Georgia Department of Revenue says that for returns filed for tax year 2022, the guidance applies to any taxpayer who has an unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat at any time on or after July 20, 2022, and through December 31, 2022. So, under Georgia's law, the amount of the dependent personal exemption is $3,000 for each unborn child.
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