I have only made around $1,500 this year, can i still file taxes and claim my daughter ? roughly how much will i get back?

[mariah1942]

My daughter just started visiting her father last month, he has paid minimal child support. I barely make any money so would it even be worth it to claim her ?

[Hal_Al · Accepted solution]

It's complicated. You can actually let the father claim her and still get the same money that you would by claiming her. There is a special rule in the case of divorced & separated (including never married) parents. When the non-custodial parent is claiming the child as a dependent/exemption/child tax credit; the custodial parent is still allowed to claim the same child for Earned Income Credit (EIC). The EIC is the main source of IRS money for claiming kids. With $1500 income and 1 kid, that will be about $500 for you. You cannot get any Child Tax Credit with only $1500 income.

But the bigger question is who do you live with? For tax purposes, a child is the "Qualifying Child" of any close relative he lives with. not just his parent. For example, if you and your child live with your parents, you can allow  them to claim your child, instead of you. That may be better than you claiming her or splitting her with the father.

[mariah1942]

my daughter and i live in a house that his parents own at the moment, just the two of us. My dad gives me some money every week to get us through, so basically we're both his dependents. could my dad claim us ?

[mariah1942]

by the way thank you so much, ive been trying to figure this out and no ones been giving me a straight awnser

[Hal_Al]

Again,  the tax rules are complicated. There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is a residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit.
So, your Dad may be able claim you and your child  as  dependents,  since he supports you.  But,  he cannot get the EIC or Child Tax credit for your child, because the child doesn't live with him.  So, he only gets partial tax benefits. Also,  since others provide your housing, it may be that your Dad doesn't provide enough support. to claim you

Quite frankly, you cannot know exactly how to file without actually doing trial returns to compare the alternatives.  This tool may be useful. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/?s=1">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-to...>

My gut feeling is your Dad should claim you and the child's father should claim her. Note that the non-custodial parent can never claim the Earned Income Credit, Head of Household filing status or the day care credit,  even when the custodial parent has released the exemption (dependency) to him.

The custodial parent has first priority on claiming the children on her taxes; regardless of the amount of support provided by the non-custodial parent. The IRS goes by physical custody, not legal custody. The non-custodial parent can only claim the child as a dependent if the custodial parent gives permission (on form 8332) or if it's spelled out in a pre 2009 divorce decree. Form:. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8332.pdf</a>