If I now have custody of my daughter and she was never claimed for the previous stimulus checks, are we eligible now?

Whether you can get the recovery rebate credit (stimulus) for your daughter depends on who could claim her as a dependent for the tax years in which the stimulus checks were issued---not what is going on for 2023.   Who could claim her for 2020 or 2021?  That is who could get the stimulus for the child.

That is unclear. The stimulus payments were never paid out to dependents, they were only paid out to the primary taxpayer, with the dollar amount being determined, in part, by the number of dependents each taxpayer claimed.  You would have to file amended tax returns for 2020 and 2021, to include your child as a new dependent. The IRS will review the claim, and if you are entitled to claim your child as a dependent, and if no one else claimed your child as a dependent in the same year, and if adding the dependent, increases the amount of the stimulus rebate, then you may get a rebate.  (Also note that in order to qualify, your child must have been a US citizen or a resident of the US, and must’ve had a valid Social Security number before the filing deadline for the 2020 tax return, which was July 15, 2021.)

 

if your child was claimed by another taxpayer in those years, then it is likely that taxpayer got a credit or rebate for the child, even if they didn’t remember it. And if the child was previously claimed as a dependent, then for you to file an amended return, and claim them as a dependent, will cause the IRS to run an investigation to find out which person who claimed the child was actually allowed to claim the child 

 

Perhaps. But most likely the person with custody in 2020 and 2021 claimed the Stimulus if they could claim the dependents.

 

If you didn't get the Stimulus for your eligible children, you can claim the amounts as the Recovery Rebate Credit when you file/amend your 2020 and/or 2021 federal tax return. You can file a 2020 tax return to claim the first and second stimulus checks through April 15, 2024.

 

However, you have to ensure that your dependents met eligibility at the time of the Stimulus.  See below:

 

To qualify for any of the credit on your 2020 tax return, you:

• Must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien in 2020
• Cannot have been a dependent of another taxpayer in 2020
• Must have a Social Security number that is valid for employment before the 2020 tax return due date
• Did not receive the full amount of the credit through an Economic Impact Payment

This includes someone who was born or died in 2020

 

Use the link below to determine whether you qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit

   Am I Eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit

 

In case you need to amend,  use this link:  Filing an Amended Return

 

@grizzo-85