Thank you all for your help!

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It took me five minutes to find the following answer on the
IRS Web site by searching for "social security number".
Excerpted from http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq-kw175.html:

Q: My daughter was born at the end of the year. We are still
waiting for a social security number. Can I send in my
return and later supply the social security number for her?

A: If you file your return claiming your daughter as a
dependent and do not provide her social security number on
the return, the dependent exemption will be disallowed. You
have two options. You could file your income tax return
without claiming your daughter as a dependent. After you
receive her social security number, you could then amend
your return on Form 1040X (PDF), Amended U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return . You have three years from the later of
the due date of the return or from the date the return was
filed to amend the return.

The other option is to file a Form 4868 (PDF), Application
for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual
Income Tax Return. This would give you an additional four
months to file your return; by then you should have your
daughter's social security number.

References:

* Form 1040X (PDF), Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
* Form 4868 (PDF), Application for Automatic Extension of Time
to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
* Tax Topic 354, Dependents

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Al wrote:

- quote -

You must have an SSN for a child to claim the tax benefits.
There are only two options available to someone in your
position. If you expect to receive the SSN before the last
possible date of a filing extension, then file for an
extension and pay any taxes due with the request. If you
don't expect to have the SSN by that date, then file your
return without the exemption and file an amended return
(1040X) after you obtain the SSN.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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"Al" <abetancorb[at]hotmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

Sorry, but you'll have to file without him and amend when
you get the SSN. Have you tried raising a fuss at Social
Security? It seems absurd that it would take a year, even
"post 9/11," which everyone seems to use nowadays as an
excuse.

--
Phil Marti
Clarksburg, MD

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My fourth son was born in mid November 2004. I am almost
ready to file my taxes but I am having problems including
him as dependent because he does not have a SS# yet. We
(family) moved to Spain in mid 2004. Getting a SS# from our
local American Consulate may take up to a year. He was born
in Spain. How can I include him in my 2004 income tax so
that I could take advantage of the child credit?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Al

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