I didn't work for 2016 but I have kids can I still file taxes to claim them?

[kmillovan14]

I'm still confused can I claim my children if I didn't work and never went to school

[SweetieJean]

How did you suppoet them and yourself?

[cwood1256]

Welfare income

[xmasbaby0]

Read the answer below from DoninGA. If you had no income other than welfare, then you will get no benefit from filing a tax return.

[kmillovan14]

No it wasn't welfare income thank you my husband supports us but every year his baby momma get me and my kids portion of income tax because she gets everything

[xmasbaby0]

If all of the household income was earned by your husband then the refund offset for the child support is just reality.  Sorry.  If you yourself worked and earned income you could file as injured spouse to shield your part of the refund.  As it is, the refund will be seized even if some of it is based on EIC for your children together until his child support owed is brought current.

[bmeyer1026]

Food stamps worked very little

[DoninGA]

If you are not married so you would not be filing a joint tax return with your spouse, then there is no point for you to file a tax return if you do not have income of any kind regardless if you have children or not.

You cannot receive any type of tax credit such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit or the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit if you do not have earned income from wages or a net profit from self-employment.  You cannot get a tax refund for taxes that were never withheld from wages you never received.

[crosss414]

You get federal tax credits for each child. If you don't file your taxes and you have children, you are missing g out on thousands of dollars.

[xmasbaby0]

@crosss414 If you do not have any income you do not get credits or any refund from filing a tax return.  The child-based credits are only available if you work and earn income.

[chadroche5]

@DoninGA and @xmasbaby0 I know this post is old but I want to clarify something. An individual can absolutely get a refund even if there is no earned or taxable income. Keep in mind we have a progressive and redistributive tax system. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-return/can-i-file-an-income-tax-re...>

[SweetieJean]

Read the article again. It does not say what you claim.

[SweetieJean]

and OP had no GROSS Income of her own.. That is different than Earned income or Taxable income.
You cannot get tax credits with no income whatsoever.

[xmasbaby0]

@chadroche5 Sorry but you either misunderstood or completely misinterpreted that article. Read it again.

[VolvoGirl]

That article means if you didn’t have enough min income to file a tax return (but you still need some income) there are some credits you can get even if you don’t owe any tax on your income.