My son recently passed in Jan 2017. Can I file his taxes and claim his son as a dependent like last year?

[JaimeG · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can place your grandson as his dependent child in his Tax Return. Nevertheless if your grandson's mother wishes to claim him as a dependent there are tie-breaker rules in such cases, in addition to the 5 tests mentioned above. The general guidelines involving divorced or separated parents are below. Right under these rules I have included a link to the IRS publication which provides some examples of common situations on how the rules apply.

Children of divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart).   In most cases, because of the residency test, a child of divorced or separated parents is the qualifying child of the custodial parent. However, the child will be treated as the qualifying child of the noncustodial parent if all four of the following statements are true.

1. The parents:

   1. Are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance,

   2. Are separated under a written separation agreement, or

   3. Lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the year, whether or not they are or were married.

2. The child received over half of his or her support for the year from the parents.

3. The child is in the custody of one or both parents for more than half of the year.

4. Either of the following statements is true.

   1. The custodial parent signs a written declaration, discussed later, that he or she won't claim the child as a dependent for the year, and the noncustodial parent attaches this written declaration to his or her return. (If the decree or agreement went into effect after 1984 and before 2009, see Post-1984 and pre-2009 divorce decree or separation agreement ..., later. If the decree or agreement went into effect after 2008, see Post-2008 divorce decree or separation agreement ..., later.)

   2. A pre-1985 decree of divorce or separate maintenance or written separation agreement that applies to 2016 states that the noncustodial parent can claim the child as a dependent, the decree or agreement wasn't changed after 1984 to say the noncustodial parent can’t claim the child as a dependent, and the noncustodial parent provides at least $600 for the child's support during the year.

  If statements (1) through (4) are all true, only the noncustodial parent can:

• Claim the child as a dependent, and

• Claim the child as a qualifying child for the child tax credit.

However, this doesn’t allow the noncustodial parent to claim head of household filing status, the credit for child and dependent care expenses, the exclusion for dependent care benefits, the earned income credit, or the health coverage tax credit. See Applying the tiebreaker rules to divorced or separated parents (or parents who live apart) ...,.
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch03.html#en_US_2016_publink1000170891

[JaimeG]

First and foremost I would like to offer my condolences for your Son's Passing.

You may file your son's taxes. While you are entering his Personal Information in TurboTax you will be able to indicate that you are doing so on his behalf due to his passing. Once you have gotten past this section you will simply prepare the return as you would your own. After you have filed the return you must contact the Social Security Administration to alert them of your son's passing and to have his Social Security Number properly rescinded. You can either go to their website or call 1-800-772-1213.

You may claim your grandson as a dependent on your own tax return especially if you have done so in the past. Nevertheless below are the rules for claiming a child as a dependent on your Tax Return.

Five tests must be met for a child to be your qualifying child. The five tests are:

1. Relationship
2. Age
3. Residency
4. Support
5. Joint return

Relationship
Since he is your Grandson he does meet the Relationship requirement.

Age
To meet the Age requirement he must be:

• Under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly),
• A student under age 24 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), or
• Permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year, regardless of age.

Residency
To meet this test, your child must have lived with you for more than half the year. There are exceptions for temporary absences, children who were born or died during the year, kidnapped children, and children of divorced or separated parents.

Support

The meet the Support Requirement the child can not have provided more than half of his or her support throughout the Tax Year.

Joint Return

To meet this test, the child can’t file a joint return for the year.

[fanfare]

"especially if you have done so in the past."
This doesn't make it correct or permissible in the current or former year, if the eligibility has not been met.

[Taschacm72]

Thank U, but the question is can I add his son to his taxes as a dependent not mine..sorry if it was not clear.

[fanfare]

It was clear but we misread it.

[fanfare]

You are file as personal represenative and preparing the return as he would have himself had he lived.

[fanfare]

Hang in there. It's tough. [personal info removed]