I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?

kbianchi94 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:27:31 GMT

Re: I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:32:33 GMT

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number. Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment. If your child was born in 2022 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year. There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support. Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2022? If not, you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2022 return are very different. For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work. That is NOT the way it will work for your 2022 tax return. The “old” rules are back. The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1500. In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working. The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1500 per child. If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2022, you do not get the CTC. But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

And for the Earned Income Credit—-the rules are back to the “old” rules—

Those under 25 and over 65 without children are not eligible as they were uniquely in 2021. And you cannot use your income from any earlier tax year to get the EIC for a 2022 return. There is no “lookback” for 2022. EIC for 2022 will be based on the income you earned by working in 2022.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899157-what-are-the-qualifications-for-the-earned-income-credit-eic-or-eitc

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

Look at your 2022 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

AND….If you have children but had no income, it raises the question of how you and the children were supported. There may be another tax-paying adult who can claim you and/or the children as dependents.

Re: I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?

Texas Roger — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 16:37:14 GMT

If you have $0 income, there should be no need for you to file a tax return. You would not qualify for any credits. See this TurboTax article for who must file: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/does-everyone-need-to-file-an-income-tax-return/L7pluHkoW

topic I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?

Re: I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?

Re: I have $0 income and I am Head of household. Can I claim a dependent for 2022 tax return?