I separated from my husband and moved in with my mom in July 2023, divorced Sept 2023. I have no income for 2023, have 2 kids. Do I file or does she claim us all?

Your mom would not be able to claim the child tax credit since you did not move in with her until July.  In order for her to claim the Child Tax Credit, the kids would have had to live with her for more than 6 months.  

 

However, if she provided more than half of your support and your kids support for the year, she can still get the $500 Non-refundable Credit for Other Dependents for you and your 2 kids. 

 

The SSD that your kids get does not affect your mothers ability to claim you as a qualifying relative.

 

To claim someone as a Qualifying Relative, they must be:

• Your child ( including step children, adoptive children and foster children) or a descendent of them
• Your sibling (including half siblings) or a child of your sibling or a sibling-in-law
• Your parent or grandparents, including step parents and in laws
• Any other person that lived with you for the entire tax year
• Not a qualifying child of another taxpayer
• Someone that you provided over half of their support for during the tax year

The best way for your mom to maximize her credits and deductions for the 3 of you would be to enter all of your information on her return, then TurboTax will ask several questions and determine which credits and deductions she will qualify for. 

 

If you have no income, you cannot file a return.  There are no longer refundable credits unless you have income.