No. Your refund cannot be intercepted for your brother's back due child support. The IRS will be notified of past-due child support by your state agency with his social security number. You are not responsible for his back due support, even if you are now claiming his daughter as a dependent. Only he is liable for that debt (of course, if he filed jointly with a spouse, that might be an issue).
There are two ways you qualify to claim your niece as a dependent, which are the qualifying child rules and the qualifying relative rules. If you meet all the requirements of either one, you can claim her as your dependent.
Qualifying child
- They're related to you.
- They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
- They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
- They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
- They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
- No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
- They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
- They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.
Qualifying relative
- They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
- They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
- They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
- They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
- They lived with you the entire year.
- They made less than $4,300 in 2020.
- You provided more than half of their financial support.
Regarding your brother's previous tax refunds going to back due support, I would suggest getting a copy of his transcript from the IRS. With that record, it should show that it was applied to back due support. At that point, he could go to the nearest child support office for further clarification.
Please see Get Transcript to get his tax transcripts.
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
