Can I claim a disability tax credit for my 18 year old Son that is still in High School. He has Autism and cannot work

[xmasbaby0]

There is not a federal disability credit.   At 18 you can still claim your 18 year old as a dependent on your own tax return.   If you have to pay someone to take care of him while you work, you can still get the child and dependent care credit for that.   Your state laws regarding disability might be different.

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3113432-who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent  

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2021 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

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 (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $4,350 in 2021.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?
• What is a "qualifying person" for Head of Household?
• Does a dependent for 2020 have to live with me?
• Do I qualify for Head of Household in 2020?
• Can I claim myself or my spouse as a dependent?

[spahmiyer]

Thank you for your timely response, it is greatly appreciated.  I had read different things regarding this, so I was confused.  Also, he just turned 18 at the end of 2021, so can I claim the child tax credit, or is he too old?  He is still in High School and has Autism and I am not receiving any child support for him and no other assistance and I pay his medical, Dr's visits, etc. by myself.  Are there any other tax credits, or just the claiming as a dependant?

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry---if your son turned 18 before the end of 2021 you cannot get the child tax credit for him.   You can only get it for a child who was NOT 18 by the end of 2021.   If you did not get the 3rd EIP payment of $1400 for claiming him yet you can get it as a recovery rebate credit on your 2021 tax return.   But if you already got it last year you cannot get the $1400 for him again.

If you qualify for earned income credit it will be added to your refund automatically.   It will show up on line 27a of your Form 1040.

[Opus 17]

Having a disabled dependent doesn't give you a direct tax credit.  

If your son is unable to care for himself and you have to pay for day care so you can work (this would include if he is a danger to himself if left alone) you can claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses even though he is older than the usual age cutoff. 

When your son turns 19, and is out of school, he would normally stop being a dependent.  If his disability prevents him from working, you would still be able to claim him as a dependent even after he turns 19, if he meets other tests (you support him, he lives at home, etc.). 

There is a box on his personal information page you can check to indicate he is disabled, then you can enter your other expenses and deductions as usual, and Turbotax will include anything that is allowed. 

[Texas Roger]

He is too old to qualify for the child tax credit. You can still claim him as a qualifying child dependent if he meets all the qualifications. You can claim his medical expenses as an itemized deduction on your tax return just as you would claim all medical expenses. Only medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income can actually be deducted and the total of all itemized deductions must be more than the standard deduction for you to get a tax benefit.

[spahmiyer]

Thank you, that is truly helpful.  I received a total of 3 payments that I see in the account.  One for $1,700 (which would include the $500 for my Son when he was 16) in April of 2020, then another payment of $1,200 (just me, as my Son was then 17) in January of 2020 and then one more payment of $2,800 in March of 2021, but no payment for my Son on the second Stimulus.  Not sure how that works?  He was 17 at the time of the 2nd and 3rd Stimulus.  Please advise if you can?

[xmasbaby0]

If your son was 17 at the end of 2020 he was not eligible for the $600  2nd stimulus payment.  Looks like you got the $1400 3rd payment for both of you, and that was correct.  They changed the criteria for the 3rd payment so that you could get it for any dependent no matter what their age.  You should also still get the $500 credit for other dependent for him.   It will be on line 19 of your Form 1040.

[Opus 17]

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@spahmiyer wrote:

Thank you, that is truly helpful.  I received a total of 3 payments that I see in the account.  One for $1,700 (which would include the $500 for my Son when he was 16) in April of 2020, then another payment of $1,200 (just me, as my Son was then 17) in January of 2020 and then one more payment of $2,800 in March of 2021, but no payment for my Son on the second Stimulus.  Not sure how that works?  He was 17 at the time of the 2nd and 3rd Stimulus.  Please advise if you can?

---

Are these all your stimulus payments? 

Round 1 was $1200 per adult taxpayer and $500 per qualifying child dependent.

Round 2 was $600 per adult taxpayer and $600 per qualifying child dependent.

Round 3 was $1400 per adult taxpayer and $1400 per any dependent. 

It sounds like the $1200 payment was probably your round 2 payment. 

[spahmiyer]

Thank you so much!  Now I need to research all medical items and add them up.

[xmasbaby0]

If the IRS gave you the $600 2nd EIP then you do not have to pay it back.   It was actually an advance on a credit you could get on a 2020 return----and for 2020 the child had to be UNDER the age of 17 to get the $600 as a recovery rebate credit.   So you got as much stimulus as possible.

[spahmiyer]

Ok, so all was received then?  I didn't remember the amounts off hand.  

[xmasbaby0]

You can check your account with the IRS to see all the EIP payments:

https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

[spahmiyer]

Thank you, so not more tax breaks on the stimulus and I should be happy to have received that.

[spahmiyer]

Why thank you, I didn't know that.  Very helpful indeed!