My children recieve survivor benefits and I am their payee, can my partner claim them as dependents on his taxes?

[HopeS]

Please clarify your question. Was the survivor benefit paid to the children?  Whose name Is on Form SSA 1099?

[mooremeghan14]

They receive a monthly survivors benefit check from their father(deceased). My partner (unmarried) and I live together and is the sole provider in our family. I am their payee...I'm wondering if he (my partner) is able to claim the children although he is not their payee.

[VolvoGirl]

The SS doesn't matter.   Is he claiming you also?  If you all lived with him the whole year and you had less than $4,400 income for the year he can claim you and the kids.  Their SS doesn't count towards the 4,400.   But he can't claim Head of Household unless he has a child of his own.

Who can you claim
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/who-can-i-claim-as-my-dependent/01/267...

FOR SOCIAL SECURITY

You don't include their income on your return. It would only go on their return if they are required to file one. If they only got Social Security or SSDI or ssi they don’t have to file a return and nobody reports it.

[HopeS]

Yes, since your partner provided more than half of their financial support for you and your children, he can claim them as qualifying relatives. 

To be a qualifying relative the following criteria must be met:

1. They don't have to be related to you (despite the name)
2. They aren't claimed as dependent by someone else
3. They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident
4. They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse
5. They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply)
6. They made less than $4,400 in 2022
7. You provided more than half of their financial support

As VolvoGirl mentioned the SSA-1099 should not be entered.

Look at Box 2 of the SSA-1099 and you should see the person's SSN.
If that is the survivor benefits are only income a child/dependent has, then the child/dependent does not have to file or report it either.  If the child\dependent has enough other income to be required to file, then the child reports the SS on their own return.

@mooremeghan14 

[luvilleslugger]

Hello- I'm in the same situation. Except I did have income so I won't be claimed, but he may claim my kids. Did you run into any issues either with the taxes or the SSI? 

[MonikaK1]

If you are the payee for Social Security benefits for your children that are paid on the account of their deceased other parent, the children can still be claimed as dependents by you (as qualifying children) or your partner (as Other Dependents if not related) if you lived together all year and the claiming party provided over half of their support, assuming the children are under 18 years of age. 

If any of the children had substantial other taxable income, they may need to file a tax return; if their only income is Social Security, then they don't need to file. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is nontaxable, whereas Social Security may be taxable if their is substantial other taxable income.

There are two types of dependents, each subject to different rules:

• a qualifying child
• a qualifying relative

If your partner isn't related to your children, they could only claim them as Other Dependents.

To file as head of household, you must:

• Pay for more than half of the household expenses
• Be considered unmarried on the last day of the tax year, and
• You must have a qualifying child or dependent.

This tax filing status includes single parents and divorced or legally separated parents with custody of the child. Further, you can also be an adult who provides support for a parent or other relative under qualifying circumstances. A person who provides more than half of the expenses but isn't related to the children doesn't qualify as head of household.

Please see this TurboTax tips article for more information regarding dependents and this one for more information on head of household.

@luvilleslugger - the thread on which you have posted is from two years ago, so the OP and answering users may not see your follow-up question. 

[mooremeghan14]

I have two sons that recieve the survivor benefits and my partner and I have one daughter together. Is he able to claim head of house although my sons are not his children yet still his dependants?

[DianeW777]

It depends.  Your partner may qualify for Head of Household if claiming your daughter, however your two sons will not, by themselves, qualify your partner for this filing status if not related as indicated below.

The following individuals could be qualifying dependents for the Head of Household filing status.

• Your biological or adopted child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step sibling, half sibling or a descendant (child, grandchild, great grandchild, etc.) of one of these relatives who is permanently and totally disabled, even if the relative does not meet the age requirements to be a qualifying child
• Your parent
• Your stepparent, niece, nephew, a sibling of one of your parents, or your son-in-law, daughter-in-law, parent-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law
  • Guide to Filing Head of Household - This link will provide more details.

To claim an unrelated person as a dependent requires meeting the rules for a qualifying relative.  Information is posted below and more information can be found by using the link.

• Who can I claim as a dependent?

Qualifying relative:

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a US citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $5,050 in 2024.
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

@mooremeghan14