Feature Articles: Taxes
Grandparents raising grandchildren may qualify for tax breaks
Reviewed and adapted with special permission from the IRS by: Andrew Zumwalt, Associate State Specialist, Personal Financial Planning & Sherron Hancock, former Consumer and Family Economics Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Grandparents who have children living in their home may be able
to get extra money from or will not have to pay as much to the IRS.
Both grandparents and great grandparents can qualify.
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available for low-income
individuals and families. To receive the EITC, you do not have to
be raising children, but if you are, you will get a bigger tax break.
You will get a refund from the IRS if your tax credit is greater
than the taxes you owe the government. To take advantage of the
EITC, you must work during the tax year and you must file a federal
tax return. There is also a specific amount of money you must earn.
For details, see
IRS publication
596 or see the article
Earned Income Credit.
Grandparents can claim their grandchildren for an exemption if they meet the following criteria:
- The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, step sister, step brother or a descendent of any of them.
- The child must be under age 19 at the end of the year, under age 24 at the end of the year and a full time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled.
- The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year.
- The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support.
- Finally, if the child meets the rules to be the qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
Also, grandparents may qualify for head of household filing status
if they pay the costs to maintain a home lived in for over half
the year by a qualifying child (see exemption rules above) and were
unmarried at the end of the year.
As grandparents, you may also take advantage of the Child Tax
Credit, even if your family makes too much money to be eligible
for the EITC. To qualify, you must 1) owe taxes, 2) claim the child/children
on the federal income tax return, and 3) the child/children must
be under the age of 17. For 2011 taxes, you may take a tax credit
of $1,000 for each child who qualifies.
Grandparents may also be eligible for a Child and Dependent Care Credit. This credit is to be used to pay for childcare so that grandparents can work or look for work. The amount of tax credit available depends on how many children you’re raising. Both amount of income and amount paid for child care will be used to determine the credit amount given. The refund can not exceed the taxes you owe.
Source: AARP. http://www.aarp.org/.
 |
Site Administrator: |
|
|
|
Last update: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
