Can a grandparent claim a grandchild if the mother had no income and they lived in my house 8 months? My income is lower than non custodial parent but I paid all bills

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

You can claim  your grandchild so long as:

1. Your grandchild must have a Social Security Number which must be on your tax return;
2. The grandchild lives with you for at least half of the year;
3. Your grandchild is younger than 19, or is a full-time student under 24;
4. Your grandchild does not claim a personal exemption for him/herself on her/his own tax return (if any).
5. [deleted].
   
6. In the circumstance where your grandchild is old enough to be married (maybe unlikely here), the grandchild cannot file a joint return.

[BobB7]

And the custodial parent didn't give the non-custodial parent written permission to claim the child and the non-custodial parent didn't live with the child more than half the year.

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

Well, if the grandchild lived with the grandparent for at least half a year, less likely the non-custodial parent (who in this OP's post seems absent) had the child for exactly the other half?

[macuser_22]

@Scruffy_Curmudgeon - Your # 5 is not correct.   If the child is a Qualifying Child then there is no requirement to provide ANY support just as long as the CHILD did not provide more than half of the child's own support.  It does not matter who paid the support as long as your 1-3 and 6 are met.    Your #4, while true, is misleading since if the child CAN be claimed as a Qualifying Child by another taxpayer then the child cannot claim them self by law, even if the parent/grandparent does not claim.

(#5 is for a Qualifying relative, not a Qualifying Child.)

[BobB7]

Scruffy:  The non custodial parent could have lived WITH THEM for part (over 6 months) of the year.

[ScruffyCurmudgeon]

I guess I'm too old to understand these new (formerly) non-traditional family arrangements.

[katwarner]

So I am still confused. I can or cannot claim my granddaughter. Her father never lived with us but did pay child support. He did make more than I did for the year. But I paid everything for my daughter and granddaughter

[Hal_Al]

Yes, you can claim your grandchild, if he is under 19.

The non custodial parent, and his child support,  is not relevant. The fact that his income is higher than yours is only relevant if he also lived with the child more than half the year.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

.A child closely related (grandchild counts) to a taxpayer can be a “Qualifying Child (QC)” dependent, regardless of the child's income, if:

1.              He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or  is totally & permanently disabled

2.              He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support

3.              He lived with the relative (including temporary absences) for more than half the year

4.              He is younger than the relative (not applicable for a disabled child)

5.              If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child (this essentially means that you have the custodial parent’s permission to claim the child, if the child also lived with the parent more than half the year). Note: the non custodial parent is irrelevant

6.              If the parents of a child can claim the child as a qualifying child but no parent so claims the child, no one else can claim the child as a qualifying child unless that person's adjusted gross income (AGI) is higher than the highest AGI of any of the child's parents who can claim the child. Note: the non custodial parent is irrelevant. This rule applies only to the mother (custodial parent) of the child

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...

[pelorus357]

You can claim the grandchild. Your confusion may be related to the issue that your daughter is by default the usual claimer, but when 2 people are eligible to be the claimer the grandparent can claim the grandchild as long as your daughter does not claim her AND your AGI is higher than your daughter's.

[Cathydale]

So let me get this straight if the grandparents decide they want to claim your child and they had them exactly half the year and you had your child for exactly half the year then because they make more money they get to claim the child and you don't how fair is that I mean the ones that make less money would be the ones that would need it the most my son lives with me now he was living with his grandparents but he is live 6 months in both houses they combined do make more money than I do so how is it right for them to get the claim him and I don't I don't understand that

[xmasbaby0]

Count up the nights the child spent in each household.  The custodial parent is the one with whom the child spent at least 183 nights.    The tax law is not based on who needs the money the most.   

[Critter-3]

@Cathydale 

Technically there is no exactly 1/2 the year when there are 365 days in the year ... someone must have had the child at least 1 day longer.   If  you had the child for 4 months, your sibiling had the child for 4 months and the grandparents had the child for 4 months then  NO ONE can claim the child. 

Now if you, the grandparents and the child all live in the same house   for more than 6 months then the parent (you) has the superior right to claim the child and if you do not then the grandparents can claim the child.  

[Cathydale]

No I did not live in the house these are actually the children's fathers parents they did not have legal custody of my children the people that did though allowed them to stay there I took the people that had custody of them back to court and was given my child or my children back in the month of July but the grandparents are wanting to claim him on their taxes and have informed me that they are going to claim him because they had him for 7 months out of the year but I have legal custody so how does that work

[Critter-3]

If the kids lived with the grandparents for more than 1/2 the year then they get to claim the kids  since the kids did not live with you for more than 1/2 the year.  Legal custody is immaterial ... the IRS goes off physical custody.