Can I claim taxes if I have not worked all year? Also can I claim my kids if I have no income all year?

[SweetieJean]

No income at all?  How do you support yourself?  Does someone else claim you and the children as tax dependents?

[leeannames]

I am a stay at home dad who got custodyback  and have had my boys for over a year now... I live with my girlfriend who supports me ( she claimed me last year) and one of my sons gets ssi for being disabled.

[SweetieJean]

Okay. (Sometimes folks say they have no income, when they really mean no income from working.)  See DoninGa's answer below.

[Hal_Al]

The unasked question is "can my girlfriend claim my kids?". The answer is yes, no & maybe.
She can only claim them if she lived with them all year. Even then, she can only claim them as "standard" dependents for the $3800 exemption (deduction). Because they are not related to her, she cannot claim them as "Qualifying Children" for EIC, child tax credit or Head of Household filing status.

A person can still be a standard dependent (Qualifying relative in IRS parlance, even though they do not have to actually be related), if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:
1. Closely Related OR live with you ALL year
2. His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $3,800 (2012)
3. You must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:
4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse
6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer
He must have a US social security number or tax identification number (TIN)
In addition to the above requirements, to claim your boy/girlfriend's children, they must meet all of the above requirements and:
--- your boy/girlfriend must not be required to file a return,
--- he/she does not file a return claiming the children

[SweetieJean]

$3900 for 2013.

[DoninGA]

If you had no income taxes withheld from having no income, you could not get a refund of income taxes that you never paid.
You cannot get an Earned Income Tax Credit if you have no earned income or self employment income.
If you have unemployment income, that has to be reported on a federal tax return, but that income does not make you eligible for the EITC.

[leeannames]

Do you know how much you have to earn to be able to recieve EIC?

[Hal_Al]

"Do you know how much you have to earn to be able to recieve EIC? "

The EIC starts with the very 1st $ of earned income, reaches a maximum at about $10,000 of income and then starts phasing out at about $17,000. See bluedeb's answer below for the income maximums.

[VolvoGirl]

n/c

[bluedeb]

You have to have taxable income in order to receive the EIC. 

Taxable earned income includes:

• Wages, salaries, tips, and other taxable employee pay;
• Union strike benefits;
• Long-term disability benefits received prior to minimum retirement age;
• Net earnings from self-employment if: 
  • You own or operate a business or a farm or
  • You are a minister or member of a religious order (see Special Rules page for more information);
  • You are a statutory employee and have income. (See definition of statutory employee on our Helpful Definitions and Acronyms for EITC page).

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/What-is-Earned-Income%3F


Preview of 2013 Tax Year for EIC

Earned Income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

• $46,227 ($51,567 married filing jointly) with three or more qualifying children
• $43,038 ($48,378 married filing jointly) with two qualifying children
• $37,870 ($43,210 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child
• $14,340 ($19,680 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children
  

Tax Year 2013 maximum credit:

• $6,044 with three or more qualifying children
• $5,372 with two qualifying children
• $3,250 with one qualifying child
• $487 with no qualifying children

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Preview-of-2012-EITC-Income-Limits,-Maximum-Credit--Amounts-and-Tax-L...

[VolvoGirl]

Also you can not get the EIC if you are claimed as a dependent on someone else's return.  And you can not claim dependents on your return if you are being claimed.  So the person claiming you would probably get to claim your dependents.

[Hal_Al]

The money you hear about people getting just for filing a tax return, claiming kids, is dependent on having some earned income. The money comes from "refundable" tax  credits. That is, you get the money even if you have calculated tax to credit against.

Without earned income, you also cannot claim the earned Income Credit or the "Additional Child Tax Credit" (the refundable portion of the $1000 child tax credit). Both are calculated on your earned income.

A little understood fact about these refundable credits is that they were designed to compensate low income wage earners for the burden of FICA (social security & medicare) taxes. Without earned income, you paid no FICA taxes.