My totally disabled child is becoming an adult

[CorinaDeLaSchoney]

I have an 18 yo disabled daughter with Autism that will continue to be in a special needs school until 2023. She will be 19 yo in April 2022. She will qualify to be my dependent after the childhood years. Every year I claimed EITC with one child and child tax credit and filed married jointly. When will she become a dependent instead of my child and what changes will occur to the EITC and child tax credit  that I usually claim, if any?  Or they continue to be the same?

[DoninGA]

Permanently and totally disabled. A person is permanently and totally disabled if, at any time in 2021, the person can't engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition and a doctor has determined that this condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can be expected to lead to death

If she is permanently and totally disabled she will still be eligible for EITC when you claim her as a dependent.

Since she is over the age of 17 she will not be eligible for the Child Tax Credit.  However, she will be eligible for the Other Dependent tax credit of $500 when you claim her as a dependent on your tax return.

You claim her as your dependent Child on your tax return and indicate that she is disabled.

[Anonymous]

I am sorry to hear your child has autism. 

The IRS provides that if the child meets all the other criteria for a child dependent then age does not matter for earned income credit for a permanently and totally disabled child. This means that you will be able to claim your permanently and disabled child as a qualifying child and hence claim earned income tax credit no matter how old she gets if the other criteria are met. 

However, the child tax credit is only allowed until your child turns 17 and after that you can claim other dependent credit for her.

What is a qualifying child for the Earned Income Credit (EIC) in 2020? 

What is the Child Tax Credit? 

[CorinaDeLaSchoney]

Can she get the full child tax credit as an adult,  or just the dependent tax credit of $500?

[Anonymous]

You can claim the other dependent credit for a disabled adult child for $500

[Opus 17]

There are different rules for different tax benefits.

To be eligible for the child tax credit, the person must be your dependent AND age 16 or less (age 17 or less for 2021 only).

To be eligible for EIC (and qualify you for head of household) the person must live in your home more than half the year, AND be under age 19 or under age 24 while also a full time student or permanently disabled.  The child can qualify for EIC even if they are too old to get the child tax credit.

However, you must be aware of the definition of "permanently disabled."  For income tax purposes, disabled means unable to perform substantial gainful work.  Many people who would be considered medically disabled (blind, paraplegic, etc) can still perform gainful work and are not disabled for income tax purposes.  If the child can work a "regular" job for at least minimum wage without or with only minor accommodations, they are considered to be able to perform gainful work and will not be considered disabled for tax purposes.  So it really depends on the degree of disability and the capabilities of each individual.  

Here is an IRS information sheet.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p3966.pdf