Can I still file taxes and claim my child if I didn't work all year?

[DoninGA]

If you have no income of any kind to report on a tax return you do not need to file a return, with or without a dependent.

[xmasbaby0]

There are no child-related credits available to you for a 2022 tax return if you did not work or earn any income.   Maybe someone else who supported you and your children can claim all of you.  Last year, for a 2021 tax return, you could get the child tax credit even if you did not work.  That will not be true for a 2022 tax return.  That 2021 CTC was only for one tax year.    The tax law is different for 2022.

[NCperson]

@brokengrl87  

in 2021, there was a benefit via the child tax credit to file a tax return even if you did not work, but the rules have reverted to the pre-2021 rules.  Therefore, tehre is no tax benefit availalbe, even if there is a child, if you did not work