Can i claim my 17 year old daughter as a dependent if she received ssa death benefits of $6780 and $4100 in income for 2017?

[DanielV01 · Accepted solution]

It depends, but likely.  Assuming she lived with you at least 6 months and 1 day, you will be allowed to claim her as a qualifying child if she did not provide at least half of her own support.  Even with these amounts, it is unlikely that she provided half of her own support and is likely your dependent.  (You do not have to provide half of her support for this test.  Your daughter must be able to support herself or she is your dependent).

The death benefits will not be taxable, and if her income are wages reported on a W-2, she will not be required to file a return, but will probably want to file a return so as to get back any Federal and State taxes she had taken out of her check.  She may do this for free by using TurboTax Absolute Zero.