Can a single mom with no income file taxes for one child

[Kellironnelle]

YES YES AND YES!! You will get Earned Income Credit as well as the Child Tax Credit giving you a few thousand dollars!! 

[xmasbaby0]

@Kellironnelle

The tax laws changed for child-related credits and are much less generous for 2022.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2022 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2022?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2022 return are very different.  For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work.   That is NOT the way it will work for your 2022 tax return.  The “old” rules are back. 

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1500.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1500 per child. 

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2022, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-f...

And for the Earned Income Credit—-the rules are back to the “old” rules—

Those under 25 and over 65 without children are not eligible as they were uniquely in 2021.   And you cannot use your income from any earlier tax year to get the EIC for a 2022 return.  There is no “lookback” for 2022.  EIC for 2022 will be based on the income you earned by working in 2022.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899157-what-are-the-qualifications-for-the-earned-income-credit-e...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

Look at your 2022 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

[Kellironnelle]

Yes! Child support is not claimed as income. 

[VolvoGirl]

Sorry but the EIC and Child Tax Credit rules for 2022 went back to the old rules.  Just for 2021 there were special rules that you could get the CTC without income and the amount was greatly increased.   There may be some state credits for not working but not for federal.  

[Kellironnelle]

You are VERY wrong! If you did not work but have a child, you are entitled to the Earned Income Credit as well as Child Tax Credit per child which entitles the mother to quite a bit of money. Please research before making those kind of statements that can affect the livelihood of those that are already struggling!! 😡

[Kellironnelle]

Yes!! Please do! You WILL get a refund!!

[VolvoGirl]

Earned Income Credit  means you have to have income from working to get it.  

[xmasbaby0]

@Kellironnelle  We have done our research.  Now you need to do some.

[Kellironnelle]

DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE DECLARING SOMETHING TO BE FACTS!!! This makes me so angry!! 

YES you can and most definitely should file taxes if you are a single mother with zero income the filing year!!! You are afforded the Earned Income Tax credit as well as the Child Tax credit per child which will give you quite a bit of money!! FILE PLEASE!!! 

[Kellironnelle]

Kathryn, I’m sorry but you are not an expert. Single mothers without an income most definitely need to file. They are afforded the Earned Income Tax credit as well as the Child Tax credit giving them a substantial refund! Do your research before you give advice that affects the livelihood of those already struggling. 

[DoninGA]

@Kellironnelle  You are referring to the rules for EIC and the Child Tax Credit which were in effect for tax year 2021.  Those rules changed back to the original rules for tax year 2022.

Go to this IRS website for EIC - https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/earned-income-and-earned...

To claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), you must have what qualifies as earned income and meet certain adjusted gross income (AGI) and credit limits for the current, previous and upcoming tax years.

Go to this IRS website for Schedule 8812 Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents Instructions - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040s8.pdf

Child tax credit enhancements have expired. Many changes to the CTC for 2021 implemented by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, have expired. For tax year 2022:
• The enhanced credit allowed for qualifying children under age 6 and children under age 18 has expired. For 2022, the initial amount of the CTC is $2,000 for each qualifying child. The credit amount begins to phase out where modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 ($400,000 in case of a joint return). The amount of the CTC that can be claimed as a refundable credit is limited as it was in 2020 except that the maximum ACTC amount for each qualifying child increased to $1,500.
• The increased age allowance for a qualifying child has expired.
A child must be under age 17 at the end of 2022 to be a qualifying child.

[VolvoGirl]

@Kellironnelle   The prior posts you are referring to go back 2 years and no longer apply.  Sorry but 2021 had special rules.  The 2022 rules for EIC and CTC went back to the old rules.  For EIC for 2020 & 2021 you could look back and use your 2019 income to qualify.  But now for the EIC Earned Income Credit you need to have earned income from working.  

[xmasbaby0]

@Kellironnelle  Clearly you care about this issue.   And you want the best for your single mother friends.  So consider this.....if you raise false hopes and unrealistic expectations for them by insisting to them that they are eligible on a 2022 tax return to get a refund from either earned income credit or the child tax credit, you will be setting them up for a huge disappointment if they had no income from working in 2022.   The tax laws have changed for 2022.  The refunds folks were getting for 2021 tax returns even if they did not work, do not exist for 2022 tax returns.

 If you think we do not know what we are talking about---use any free tax software you want to use----not just TurboTax----and create some"test" tax returns for a fictitious single mother with no income from working.   Enter information for her and her dependent children into the software,   Then take a look to see if there are any child-related credits being put into a refund on the tax return. 

Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

Try it and decide if you want to spread misinformation to single mothers who did not/could not work in 2022.  You probably do not want to cause that sort of disappointment and discouragement for people who you care about.

[hbl3973]

I agree with xmasbaby0!  This came up at the AARP Tax-Aide site where I volunteer.

However, it may be beneficial to file if there is a state income tax benefit.  In Colorado, full time single residents with no income will receive $153 in TABOR relief if they file.

BTW, a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation says this person would have to have earned at least $38,500 in order to get the full $2,000 child tax credit.  If she is also claiming child care credit, she would add 8 1/3 times that credit to the $38,500.