4 Overlooked Tax Breaks for New Parents

Kids can score you valuable credits and deductions on your tax return.

Got a new bundle of joy in your household? Here are opportunities to cut your tax bill as you grow your family.

1. Dependency Exemption

Claiming your son or daughter as a dependent will shelter $4,050 of your income from tax in 2016 and 2017.

2. Child Tax Credit

A new baby also delivers a $1,000 child tax credit, and this is a gift that keeps on giving every year until your dependent child turns 17.

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3. Head of Household Filing Status

If you're single, having a child may allow you to file as a head of household rather than using the single filing status. That would give you a bigger standard deduction and more advantageous tax brackets.

4. Adoption Credit

The credit will reimburse you for up to $13,460 in expenses for a 2016 adoption.

Read more about ways parents can lower their tax bills.

Rebecca Dolan
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com
Before joining the Kiplinger team as Online Community Editor in 2013, Rebecca was associate travel editor at the Huffington Post, where she also handled the travel section's social media. She landed at AOL/HuffPost after earning an MS in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School, with a concentration in health and science journalism. Prior to that, she covered lifestyle at Jacksonville Magazine, in Jacksonville, Fla., preceded by a stint at American Cheerleader magazine. She holds a BA from the College of William and Mary.