disabled dependent

[Csco15]

I have a 24-year-old daughter with autism.

She receives SSI benefits.

She has qualified through the military to continue to receive Tricare insurance because we provide more than half of her living expenses.

What are the rules for claiming her as an adult dependent?

[MariaDG]

Hi Csco15.  What a great question!  Lots of people get confused about adult dependents.

If your child has been deemed permanently and totally disabled, then you can continue to claim them as a dependent.  There is no age limit to be your qualifying child in that case.  It sounds like this may be the case. 

If not:
If the child is not permanently and totally disabled, then they can be your qualifying relative as long as they are living with you and do not earn more than $4400.  

You can find more information here. 

Additionally:  While you do not qualify for the child tax credit for this child any longer, you may be eligible for the other dependent credit!  Currently this credit is $500 but is non-refundable, which means it will not lower your tax due below $0 and cause a refund.  And you could potentially qualify for the Earned Income Credit or Dependent Care Credit if they are relevant to your situation, too!

Thanks so much for participating.  Hope this helps!

[Csco15]

Thank you for the information on a disabled dependent.

You mentioned a dependent has to be deemed permanently and totally disabled.

My question to this is deemed by whom?

We have an autism diagnosis from a psychiatrist but it does not contain the language "permanently and totally disabled".

[MariaDG]

That's a great point to clarify.  The IRS states:  You may be able to claim your child as a dependent regardless of age if :

• He or she cannot engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition.
• A doctor determines the condition has lasted or can be expected to last continuously for at least a year or can lead to death.

You mentioned the child is receiving SSI payments, which usually means that social security has deemed them disabled. I believe they typically do a re-evaluation at age 18 to see if benefits should continue. You may have some paperwork to that effect? Otherwise, does the autism diagnosis say anything about their ability to work? If your child is incapable of working full time at a minimum wage job, they would be considered disabled. 

(If she works at a sheltered workshop that exists to try and teach work skills to disabled individuals, that work may be exempt for this purpose.  And the income may not count for purposes of determining dependency.)

Here is a relevant IRS flyer: Living and Working with Disabilities

[SuziM]

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