To be eligible to claim the child tax credit you must have at least $2,500 of earned income from working. SSDI is not earned income.
You can claim them as dependents if they lived in your home more than half the nights of the year. It is not necessary for you to gain legal custody from the court since you are a grandparent, the child's residency is enough. However, if you don't have income earned from working, you will only be eligible for the $500 credit for "other dependent."
For tax year 2021, you could get the child tax credit even if you had no income from working. That was unique to 2021 only. The tax law changed back to the "old" rules for 2022 and upcoming years, so unless you have income from working, you cannot get the child tax credit.
@donna-thigpen201 but even getting the $500 "other dependent credit" requires income that exceeds your standard deduction. So if you are only income is SSDI, that won't occur.
So even though I only received $1,376 a month and rent is $895 & utilities and electric and I get no help, support or cash assistance for taking emergency custody of my 6 & 5 yr old great nephews & I only get $120 in food stamps I can't claim them, for anything, I think that's crazy. I have up my life living in West Palm Beach to move back to Ohio because my niece ended up getting incarcerated then her son's father gets incarcerated. I got kinship one time then on August 30th my nephews father walks in the door. He still hasn't gotten a job since he came home and I have now lost my managed health care and I gain nothing. I have one more court case regarding the custody & I might as well tell the judge to put my nephews with a foster family at least they will get something or some help. The only reason I haven't it's because the five-year-old has special needs he's autistic has ADHD learning behaviors short vowel syndrome after having NEC I feel like giving up
@TENAJANE This is an older thread in which a user asked if they could get refundable child-related credits while receiving only Social Security disability. Unfortunately, if you do not have income from working, you are not eligible for refundable child related credits on an income tax return. All of the refundable child-related tax credits are based on having income from working.
You are in a very difficult situation, for which help is not available from an income tax return. So very sorry. You mention that you are now living in the state of Ohio. Have you visited an office of Job and Family Services to seek some help with your rent or perhaps an increase in the SNAP benefits, etc.
I really do appreciate your reply and it does make since to me. I just wish there were more agencys out there that offered more help. You'd think I'd get kinship monthly for the both of them, just as I did for when I had custody of their Mother. I did live in West Palm Beach for two & a half yrs with someone I was to get married to after 17 yrs of no dating or anything, then they called it off and told me I had to move. So I moved back to my hometown in July of 2023.
Sincere Thanks
Michael
@TENAJANE Best of luck----sorry we cannot help with this in the TurboTax forum. If you have not gone in person to a Job & Family Services office, please try that----there may be help available to you.