Can a single mom with no income file taxes for one child

[DoninGA]

If you have no income of any kind to report on a tax return, then there is no need or reason to file a tax return, with or without a dependent child.  You are not eligible for any kind of tax credit if you do not have any earned income.  And you cannot receive a tax refund if you did not have any income where income taxes would have been withheld.

[SweetieJean]

How do you support yourself and the child?  Can someone else claim you and your child? Your screen name suggests that you may be under age 19, and living with your parents.

[Hal_Al]

The money you hear about people getting for just filing a tax return claiming kids requires you to  ...

If you are a student, over age 23, and are not claimed as a dependent by someone else (e.g. your parent) you may be eligible for the up to $1000 refundable American Opportunity (tuition) Credit. That credit is not dependent on having either kids or earned income. You must be at least a half time undergraduate student and actually paid tuition (not just had it paid by grants). Tuition paid by loans counts as paid by you (since you have to pay that back, someday)

A child can be the “qualifying child” dependent of any close relative in the household. If you live with someone else, e.g. your parents, it may be better if they claim your child. Or, it may be better if the non-custodial parent claims the child.

[zanonetate]

What if the mom receives child support as her only source of income...can she file and claim her children then?

[WhrlWind]

Child support is not your earned income.  That money has already been taxed when baby daddy earned it therefore he reports it on his taxes.

[AmyC]

I suggest you take a short anonymous online IRS quiz. Do you need to file? Should you file? Who can you claim? Answers here:

• Filing Requirement, Form to Use, Due Date
• Filing Status, Dependents and Exemptions

Earned income - wages - are the source of the Earned Income Credit that people get for being low income with kids. Without wages, you certainly do not qualify for that.

[MotherTeresa]

Hi,

It wouldn't be logical to file taxes if you do not have a job. If you were unemployed a full year, the following year you wouldn't need to file as you didn't make any income to do so!! Makes sense right? It should!

So if you have NO income to report ; therefore ,you DO NOT have a reason to file a tax return, regardless to whether you have a dependent child or not.

Thank you,

Teresa

(BA degree, Mother, I love my Melanin)

[Suriyyah]

Can a single mom with no income with a child file tax 

[ToddL99]

Yes, a single mother with a child, but no income, can file a tax return.

There is, however, no reason to file a return if you have have no income.

As @DoninGA states above:

If you have no income of any kind to report on a tax return, then there is no need or reason to file a tax return, with or without a dependent child.  You are not eligible for any kind of tax credit if you do not have any earned income.  And you cannot receive a tax refund if you did not have any income where income taxes would have been withheld.

[Denneyivy33]

Iam new ay this never before filed taxes iam a none filer what do i do

[KathrynG3]

A single mom with a child, but no income does not need to file a return. The child cannot be your dependent if you have not provided more than 50% of the child's support.

The tax return can be filed for free, potentially.

Click this link to see if you qualify to file for free: IRS Free File Program delivered by TurboTax

Otherwise, start your return with TurboTax Free Edition.

See: What's the difference between IRS Free File Program and Free Edition?

You may be interested in filing to see if you qualify for the stimulus payments. Filing a 2020 tax return is the only remaining way to receive those payments only if they have not already been received.

To do this in TurboTax, follow these steps:

1. Go to the search box and enter stimulus. Click the Jump to link.
2. Answer Yes.
3. At the next screen, Let's double-check the amount you received, answer No to edit the first-round and second-round amounts.
4. Since no stimulus amount was received, enter 0 for each box. An amount must be entered in each box. When finished, click Continue.

For more information, see: Recovery Rebate Credit Frequently Asked Questions | Internal Revenue Service.

To see if you should claim your child, go to this quick IRS quiz: Whom May I Claim as a Dependent? | Internal Revenue Service.

@Suriyyah

@Denneyivy33

[Rljones717]

How can I as a single father get a tax credit if I haven't worked since like 2018 full time I do odds and ends here and there to support me and my daughter but from the injuries I received from a motorcycle accident I can't work 8 hours a day and I don't have disability but my child's mother worked in 2017 and has been getting the child taxes the whole time and not helping me at all so how's it that I can do it and I can verify I've had my daughter since she was 79 days old and I have full custody.

[amina124]

Ok but I’m getting 3600 for my baby I had in 2021 and I had no taxable income

[SweetieJean]

This thread originated several years ago.  As of NOW, if your main home is in the United States for more than 6 months of the year, you do not need income to be eligible for the child tax credit.  But how do you pay your bills?  Is someone else supporting you and your family?  If so, you might be their dependents.

Here is a link to the IRS site answering many child tax credit questions. child tax credit