Child tax credit

[Roger_521]

How is it fair to grandparents that don't work now and receive SSDI that they can't get earned income for raising and supporting their grandkids ? It's like we are on a fixed income, some less then others, we should be entitled to earned income since we paid in to Social Security to get what we're getting. It's not handed to us.

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry---that is the way that Congress wrote those tax laws.   The refundable earned income credit and additional child tax credit are based on income from actively working at a W-2 job or by self-employment.

[xmasbaby0]

@Roger_521 Some information that you might find helpful-----you do not mention how long your grandchildren have lived with you or why they are with you.   In some cases, if you are on SSDI, you can get benefits to help with your dependent grandchildren.   I do not know how it all works, but it could certainly be worth your time to make an appointment at a SS office to see if you can get some help from Social Security to increase the benefits that are coming to your household.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf