Can I claim my grandkids who live with me … what should I know

My daughter and her two autistic kids have been living with me for the past three years. I’ve been taking care of them for most of that time. Last year, she started getting disability benefits for the kids, but she hasn’t given me any money, and I still handle most of their care, including taking them to doctors. Can I claim them on my taxes? Is there any issue with that?

You can claim them if your daughter doesn’t claim them and if you earn more than she does.

Tenny said:
You can claim them if your daughter doesn’t claim them and if you earn more than she does.

Exactly. Just make sure no one else is claiming them already.

Tenny said:
You can claim them if your daughter doesn’t claim them and if you earn more than she does.

I work two jobs, and she only worked for a few months. My main concern is that both grandkids started getting disability benefits this year, and I’m not sure how that affects things. I claimed them last year, and I do everything for them except being their biological parent.

@Charlie
The rule is that you need to provide over 50% of their support, and they can’t be claimed by someone else.

@Charlie
You’re working two jobs and taking care of the kids? You deserve a medal.

Just to confirm, they’re your grandkids and lived with you all year? If so, you can claim them as dependents if they’re under 19 or under 24 and full-time students, as long as their mom doesn’t claim them.

@Shawn
What’s confusing me is the disability checks they get. I don’t know much about how that works.

Charlie said:
@Shawn
What’s confusing me is the disability checks they get. I don’t know much about how that works.

The disability checks don’t affect whether you can claim them or not.

Yes, you can claim them, and you might qualify as head of household.

My daughter and grandkids have lived with me all year, and I’ve been taking care of them. The grandkids started getting disability benefits in September, but my daughter doesn’t give me any money from it. She doesn’t really use it to support them either.

@Charlie
What kind of disability benefits are they getting? Is it a state program or something else? State and federal welfare programs usually don’t count as support provided by the child, but Social Security does. If it’s survivor benefits, that might be different.

Think of it this way: sometimes elderly parents move in with their kids and get disability benefits. The kids don’t have to give that money to the parents to help with bills, but they still care for them. In your case, you’re the one providing the care, so you might be able to claim them. You could even talk to your daughter about each of you claiming one dependent. Also, disability money is often tax-free.

The disability income is taxed to them, but as long as it’s below the filing threshold ($14,600 per child in 2024), you don’t need to worry about it.

They didn’t get the disability for the whole year, so they definitely didn’t reach that amount.

Do you or your daughter provide more than half of their support? The IRS has a tool to help with this: Whom may I claim as a dependent? | Internal Revenue Service

Jordan said:
Do you or your daughter provide more than half of their support? The IRS has a tool to help with this: Whom may I claim as a dependent? | Internal Revenue Service

For a qualifying child, it doesn’t matter who provides the support, as long as the child doesn’t provide more than half of their own support.

Yes, you can claim them. I did the same with my ex’s daughter when we lived together and she was on disability.

If they live with you and you provide more than half their support, you can claim them.

Whit said:
If they live with you and you provide more than half their support, you can claim them.

The support test for a qualifying child isn’t about who provides more than half their support. It’s about whether the child provides more than half of their own support. If they don’t, you can move to the next test.