Can i claim my grandchild as a dependent on my taxes

[xmasbaby0]

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/children-dependents/help/what-does-financially-support-another-per...

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4200  (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

[Imjustwonderin]

Would my grandchildren be qualifying children or qualifying relatives. They live with me and i completly support them. But somehow the tax lady said i could only receive $500 per children since they aren't my actual children. But they are my biological grandchildren. What do i do? Is she right?

[xmasbaby0]

The "tax lady?"  Do your grandchildren have Social Security numbers?  Are they under the age of 17?

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They are related to you.

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

• They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

• They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

• They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

• They lived with you the entire year.

• They made less than $4200  (not counting Social Security)

• You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

• Does a dependent have to live with me?

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

• Can I claim a newborn baby?

To claim a grandchild as your dependent

When you enter the child’s name in Personal Info, you will be asked “What’s your relationship to  [child’s name]?” 

           Choose “another person”

            a drop down menu will appear that lets you choose grandchildIf you have a child old enough to have an after school job, etc., then they are usually the “first suspect” for this problem.  Make sure your child did not “claim himself” on his tax return.  Or……

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

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

[Imjustwonderin]

Yes i filed my taxes through a women that calls herself the tax lady.. her business is here in my town. Yes both my grandchildren are US citizens and are under 5 years of age

[LeonardS]

Your grandchildren would be  considered qualifying relatives.  " ....  A relative related by blood, legal adoption, or marriage other than a parent (child, sibling, grandparent, nephew, aunt, step-parent, in-law, etc.) AND lived with you for more than half the year AND that you're able to claim as a dependent (even if you're not claiming them as such)."  Ref: What is a "qualifying person" for Head of Household?

[xmasbaby0]

Well---a grandchild can meet the criteria to be claimed as a qualifying child.    So if you have income earned from working you are eligible for the child-related credits for the children.  Look over your Form 1040.

There are several child-related credits you *may* get if you have a dependent child and if you have income earned from working.The amount earned by working has a major effect on how much you receive for the child-related credits.

You might be getting the Child Tax Credit--that is not all a refund--it lowers the tax you owe, up to $2000 per child, but if you do not owe tax then you may not get the full amount of CTC.  In some cases, you could qualify for the "Additional Child Tax Credit" which is a refundable credit, and would increase your refund.  If you qualify for this credit, TurboTax calculates and automatically adds it to your refund.

You might be able to claim the child and dependent care credit if you paid someone to take care of your child so you could work. This is not a refundable credit, so it will not be in your refund.  It can lower the tax you owe.

You might qualify for Earned Income Credit, which is a refundable credit if you worked and earned income. The EIC is based on the amount you earned.  If you do qualify for EIC, TurboTax automatically calculates the amount and adds it to your refund.

Look at your 2019 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Child Tax Credit line 13a

Credit for Other Dependents line 13a

Earned Income Credit line 18a

Additional Child Tax Credit line 18b

Child and Dependent Care Credit line 18d

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-f...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900643-what-is-the-child-and-dependent-care-credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899157-what-are-the-qualifications-for-the-earned-income-credit-e...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4499708-what-is-the-500-credit-for-other-dependents-family-tax-cre...

[mbzeke50]

My daughter and grandson live with me. Their both on Medicaid. She only made $1500 last year. Can I claim my grandson and will that effect her benefits?

[DebraCont]

My granddaughters wasn't included on my Stimulus check. I received my Stimulus money but. I  didn't receive for my granddaughters. They receive Social security death benefits and I am their Payee so they should have our Info.

From Social security. Why didn't I receive for them.

[VolvoGirl]

Was a child over 16 on Dec 31, 2019 or turned 17 in 2020?  Has to be UNDER 17 on Dec 31, 2020 (that's right 2020).

You will receive any additional credit to which you were entitled when you file your 2020 taxes.

[JJOTOOLE]

So heres a good one. I provide the majority of support for my unemployed stepdaughter who is over 21 and does not file a tax return and her 2 children. One child I did not claim on my 2019 return in order to avoid a war with tbe childs father which is a whole different story. In any case, I received my stimulus payment of 2900 since I am married, fell under the agi limit and got the credit for the one grandchild. The issue is that my adult step daughter apparently is ineligible for claiming her stimulus benefit directly because she was a dependent on my return however she was also ineligible on my return since she was over 21. This seems like a loophole in favor of the government and we as a family are collectively losing out on one of the 500 credits. Any thoughts?

[JotikaT2]

The only way for her to claim the stimulus payment is if she is not listed on your tax return as a dependent and she meets the requirements to receive the stimulus payment.  If you determine she should not have been claimed on your return, you have the option to file an amended return to remove her.  

How to amend my return?

Please note there is a delay in processing paper returns.

IRS operations

Please see the following link to the IRS website to determine if you are eligible for the stimulus payment, and if so, how to register for it if you do not have a tax return filing requirement.

Stimulus payment questions and answers from the IRS

Stimulus check registration options with the IRS

[JJOTOOLE]

Understood, just doesn't seem fair since we'll be giving back our deduction so she can get her stimulus while the under 21 dependant on the return got it. Common sense might dictate that the adult probably needs it more than the minor but so it goes.

[antvaz44]

Can i claim my grandchild as a dependent on my taxes

[xmasbaby0]

@antvaz44 You have not shared any information about your situation here so we cannot say whether you can claim your grandchild.  

Try this IRS tool:

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, fiance (etc.) as a dependent on your 2019 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

•They are related to you.

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or   Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They are under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).

• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children

  •      They live with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).

Qualifying relative

•They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).

•They cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

•They are a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.

•They are not filing a joint return with their spouse.

•They lived with you the entire year.

•They made less than $4300  (not counting Social Security)

•You provided more than half of their financial support. More info

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them.

Related Information:

•Does a dependent have to live with me?

•What does "financially support another person" mean?

•Can I claim a newborn baby?

[ToddL99]

Yes, if she meets the requirements as a Qualifying Child or Relative. See the post above, from  @xmasbaby0 .

The following IRS tool will answer the question Whom May I Claim as a Dependent?