Can I file my daughter's EIC, but not as a dependent, then she file her tax returns with her own dependent on a single status?

No.  You cannot claim the EIC for your daughter and then her also claim it on her own return with her son.  In order to claim the EIC for your daughter you would need to claim her as a dependent.

 

 

A dependent cannot claim to have a dependent of their own.  Your daughter cannot get EIC if she can be claimed as someone else's dependent.    Was she a full-time student in 2024?   Or was she less than a half-time student?   How old is she?    You need to determine if she can be claimed as your qualifying child or qualifying relative.  It is possible that you can also claim your grandchild as your own dependent.

 

 

If your daughter does not meet the criteria to be your qualifying child you cannot get EIC for claiming her.

 

 

  If your daughter CAN be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return then she must say on her return that she can be claimed.    It is possible that you will be able to claim both your daughter and her child as your dependents if you are supporting them.

 

Your daughter can file her own tax return to seek a refund of tax withheld as shown in box 2 or 17 of her W-2, but on her own return she needs to say she can be claimed as someone else's dependent.

 

If you choose to share any refundable child-related credit you receive like the EIC or additional child tax credit, that is up to you.

 

 

 

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

 

 

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2024 tax return 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 $5050 in 2024.   (Not counting Social Security)
• 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?

 

My daughter was and is a full-time student.  She just turned 20.  My daughter and my grandson both meet the criteria for me to claim them.  However, she just got student loan and they told her she had to file her own return and it had to show her son on it? Is that correct for the financial aid.  

@cherie08 We cannot tell you anything about student loan/financial aid requirements.  We can tell you about the rules for tax returns.  If your daughter is 20 years old and was a full-time student, she can be claimed as a dependent on a tax return by the person who provided over half of her support.

@cherie08 And one other point---you do not mention if you are a single parent----if your 20 year old is your only child, then if you do not claim a qualifying dependent, you will not be able to use Head of Household filing status, which means more of your own income is taxable.