As the legal guardian of your 13-year-old granddaughter, you may be ablet to claim her as a dependent on your tax return and potentially qualify for the Child Tax Credit.
Here’s how you can proceed:
Filing Status: You can continue to file as "Head of Household" if you meet the requirements. This status generally applies if you are unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying person, such as your granddaughter.
Claiming the Child Tax Credit:
- Qualifying Child: Ensure your granddaughter meets the criteria for a qualifying child. She must be under 17 at the end of the tax year, have lived with you for more than half the year, and not provide more than half of her own support.
- Social Security Number: She must have a Social Security number that is valid for employment in the U.S. and issued before the due date of your tax return.
To claim your granddaughter using TurboTax, follow these steps:
- Start Your Return:
- Open TurboTax and sign in to your account.
- Begin your tax return or continue if you have already started.
- Enter Personal Information:
- Navigate to the section where you enter personal information (About me tab).
- Add your granddaughter's details, including her name, Social Security number, and relationship to you.
- Dependent Information:
- TurboTax will prompt you to enter information about your dependents.
- Ensure you select that she lived with you for more than half the year and that you provided more than half of her support.
- Claiming the Child Tax Credit:
- TurboTax will automatically determine if you qualify for the Child Tax Credit based on the information you provided.
- Follow the prompts to confirm her eligibility and claim the credit.
- Filing Status:
- Confirm your filing status as "Head of Household" if you meet the requirements. TurboTax will guide you through this process.
