Are my two dependant children, who have multiple diagnosed disabilities, including autism/intellectual/developmental disabilities, considered disabled for tax purposes?

Laura66 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:29:26 GMT

They have seven disabilities and I have never checked off this box on our taxes because the critieria is confusing. They both have medical diagnosises of these disabilities for over 10 years, and no I'm questioning if this box should have been checked off in the past. I don't know how (if anything) it would change anything with our taxes or our refund?

Re: Are my two dependant children, who have multiple diagnosed disabilities, including autism/intellectual/developmental disabilities, considered disabled for tax purposes?

xmasbaby0 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:51:54 GMT

Do I get a credit or deduction if my child is disabled?

If your child is older than 12 and you need to pay someone to take care of him while you work, you can say he is disabled and you can still get the childcare credit on your federal return. Or if he is 19 or older you may still be able to claim him as a qualifying child dependent on your federal return.

Aside from those things, there is no federal tax advantage to saying that your child is disabled. Your state tax laws might be different.

However——if there are any costs for education as a result of your child’s disability, you may be able to enter them as a medical expense:

From the IRS:

Special Education

You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a

doctor's recommendation for a child's tutoring by a

teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with

children who have learning disabilities caused by mental

or physical impairments, including nervous system disor-

ders.

You can include in medical expenses the cost (tuition,

meals, and lodging) of attending a school that furnishes

special education to help a child to overcome learning dis-

abilities. Overcoming the learning disabilities must be the

primary reason for attending the school, and any ordinary

education received must be incidental to the special edu-

cation provided. Special education includes:

• Teaching Braille to a visually impaired person,

• Teaching lip reading to a hearing disabled person, or

• Giving remedial language training to correct a condi-

tion caused by a birth defect.

You can't include in medical expenses the cost of send-

ing a child with behavioral problems to a school where the

course of study and the disciplinary methods have a ben-

eficial effect on the child's attitude if the availability of med-

ical care in the school isn't a principal reason for sending

the student there.

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Are my two dependant children, who have multiple diagnosed disabilities, including autism/intellectual/developmental disabilities, considered disabled for tax purposes?

Re: Are my two dependant children, who have multiple diagnosed disabilities, including autism/intellectual/developmental disabilities, considered disabled for tax purposes?