Can i claim my 23 year old daughter and my 6 month old grandson on my taxes if they are living with me and i provide more than 1/2 of their expenses?

[soccergirl05]

My daughter works full time so she would still file her own return stating that someone else can claim her. Who claims the 6 mo old child, me or her?

[SabrinaD2]

Can You Claim Your 23-Year-Old Daughter?

Probably not.

She is too old to be your Qualifying Child (must be under 19, or 24 if a full-time student).

As a Qualifying Relative, her gross income must be under $5,050 (2024 limit) and you must provide more than half her support.

Since she works full-time, it’s likely her income exceeds $5,050, disqualifying her.

Can You Claim Your 6-Month-Old Grandson?

Your daughter has first right to claim him as his parent under IRS tie-breaker rules—even if he lives with you.

If she chooses not to claim him, you may claim him only if:

He lived with you more than half the year,

You provided more than half his support,

And your daughter does not claim him.

Your daughter should check the box on her tax return: “Someone else can claim me.”

The IRS prioritizes parents over grandparents in dependent claims unless the parent waives the right.

Official IRS Resources:

IRS Dependency Rules (Publication 501)

Qualifying Child & Relative Tests

[Opus 17]

Yes, you can, but there are some rules you need to understand and follow.

First, if your daughter wants to claim the child, she has the absolute right to do so regardless of support or anything else, because she is the child's mother.

Assuming your daughter agrees to not claim the child, then these are the rules you follow:

1. You can claim your daughter only if her taxable income is less than $5050 and you pay more than half her support, OR, she is a full time student under age 24 and lived in your home more than half the year.  

From your information, it seems most likely that you can't claim your daughter.  Your daughter does not have to check "someone else will claim me" if this is the case.

2. You can claim your grandchild if:

a. your daughter agrees not to claim her

b. your taxable income is higher than your daughter's taxable income,

c. your grandchild lived in your home more than half the year OR your grandchild lived in your home less than half the year but you paid more than half the grandchild's total support.

You should first look at your daughter's status.  If you can't claim her, as I suspect, then you should each try claiming the child (on a test tax return only) and see who gets a better refund or lower taxes.  If you are the person who pays more than half the total household expenses, you can claim the child and then file as head of household, which has lower rates.  If your income is from working, you would qualify for the child tax credit up to $2000, but if you are retired and your income is not from working, you won't get that credit.  Your daughter would file as single.  If your daughter claims the child, she can't file as head of household if she doesn't pay more than half the total household expenses, but she might qualify for a partial child tax credit and earned income credit, depending on her income.  

Bottom line, you could claim the grandchild.  You probably can't claim your daughter if she works full time.  But to know which is the best combination, you would have to test the different options.  Then file according to the best option.