My 3.5 yr old son receives social security benifits under disability because he is a type 1 diabetic. I don't know if these means he's disabled as the prep asks?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

No, he's not disabled for this question, but it does not matter.  Since he is less than 16 years old, he will be your Qualifying Child and you will qualify for all his eligible benefits.  That question only comes into play for a potential dependent who is older than 18 years of age at the end of the previous year, or older than 23 if still a student.  

[mackenziequinn]

Thank you! This was what I suspected but just wanted to make sure I answer everything as accurately as possible!

[xmasbaby0]

So sorry to hear about your child's health problems.  There is not any extra tax benefit or deduction to saying that a child under age 13 is disabled on your Federal return.  If you have a disabled child over 12 and need to pay for childcare so you can work, saying the child is disabled can enable you to claim the childcare credit.  Or if the child is 19 or older, you can still claim the disabled child as your dependent.  Otherwise, it does not benefit you to claim that your child is disabled.  Your state tax laws may be different.

Of course, any medical expenses you are paying out of pocket should be entered in Medical Expenses in case you have met the threshold for claiming medical expenses as a deduction.