Can I get child tax credit with 0 income while on disability for 2022?
I've been dealing with some serious health problems that have kept me from working, so I've been receiving disability payments. My situation is I have three little ones - ages 6, 2, and 1. Their mom (we're not together) claims our 6-year-old on her taxes, but I should be able to claim my 2-year-old and 1-year-old. What I'm confused about is whether I can get the child tax credit even though I don't have any actual "income" - just my disability payments. In my head, I should still qualify since these are my kids and I'm supporting them with what money I have. But when I went to H&R Block yesterday, the tax guy told me I wouldn't qualify without earned income. Does anyone know if that's right? Can I not get the child tax credit if disability is my only source of money? Really hoping someone can clear this up because that credit would help a lot with my little ones.
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Rami Samuels
The tax preparer at H&R Block wasn't giving you the full picture. For 2022, the Child Tax Credit is partially refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), even with no earned income. The rules changed a bit from the 2021 expanded version. For 2022, you can receive up to $1,500 per qualifying child as a refundable credit (known as the Additional Child Tax Credit) even if you have no tax liability. You qualify for this portion regardless of your income source. Since you have two qualifying children (the 2-year-old and 1-year-old), you could potentially receive up to $3,000 in refundable credits. Disability benefits are generally not considered "earned income," but that doesn't disqualify you from the refundable portion of the credit. You should definitely file a tax return to claim this benefit for your children.
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Tami Morgan
•Thanks so much for clarifying! So the guy at H&R Block was wrong? Just to make sure I understand correctly - even though my only "income" is disability payments, I can still get up to $1,500 per child as a refundable credit? That would be amazing for my situation right now.
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Rami Samuels
•Yes, the H&R Block preparer wasn't giving you complete information. You can receive up to $1,500 per qualifying child as a refundable credit through the Additional Child Tax Credit, even with disability as your only income. The confusion might be because they were thinking about the non-refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit, which requires tax liability to use. But the refundable portion (ACTC) is specifically designed to help families with lower incomes or no tax liability. I'd recommend trying a different tax preparer or using tax software that can properly handle your situation.
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Haley Bennett
After dealing with a similar situation last year, I started using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer for my disability and dependent situation. The regular tax places kept giving me conflicting info about what credits I qualified for with SSDI as my only income. What I like about taxr.ai is it actually analyzes your specific documents and tax situation rather than applying generic rules. It picked up on some refundable credits I was eligible for that three different preparers had missed! The system understood the distinction between earned income requirements for some credits versus others that disability recipients can still claim.
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Douglas Foster
•How exactly does it work? Do you just upload your documents and it tells you what you qualify for? I'm on disability too and tired of tax preparers who don't understand our situation.
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Nina Chan
•I'm a bit skeptical. There's so many tax "solutions" out there that claim to help but just take your money. Does it actually know the specific rules for disability income and how it interacts with dependent credits? That's usually where most software fails.
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Haley Bennett
•You upload your tax documents and answer a few questions, then it analyzes everything and shows you exactly what credits and deductions you're eligible for based on your specific situation. It caught that my disability payments qualified me for certain credits even without traditional earned income. The system specifically understands how different income types (like disability) interact with tax credits like the Child Tax Credit and EITC. It's built to recognize these special cases where most preparers get confused about eligibility rules. It definitely knows the difference between SSI, SSDI, and other disability payments and how they affect different credits.
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Nina Chan
I was skeptical about taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here, but I gave it a try for my complicated disability/dependent situation. I'm eating my words now - it was actually really helpful. The system immediately recognized my SSDI payments and correctly identified which credits I could still claim despite having no "earned income." It explained exactly why I qualified for the Additional Child Tax Credit even on disability. What impressed me most was that it caught an error from my previous year's return where my accountant had missed applying for a credit I was eligible for. For anyone on disability with kids, it's worth checking out as an alternative to traditional preparers who often don't understand our unique situations.
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Ruby Knight
After spending WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS about my disability payment tax questions, I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and actually got to talk to a real IRS agent in less than 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was in the exact same situation - disability only income with two kids, and completely confused about the Child Tax Credit eligibility. The IRS agent confirmed I was eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit's refundable portion even with only disability income. Got a clear explanation about the differences between the 2021 and 2022 rules too. Saved me from filing incorrectly based on advice from my tax preparer who was applying the wrong rules to my situation.
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Tami Morgan
•How does this actually work? I've tried calling the IRS so many times and always get disconnected or have to wait for hours. Is this legit?
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Diego Castillo
•Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. They're notorious for keeping people on hold for HOURS. I seriously doubt this service actually works as advertised.
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Ruby Knight
•It's a callback service that uses technology to navigate the IRS phone tree and wait on hold for you. When they finally get through to an agent, you get a call connecting you directly. That's why you don't have to personally wait on hold for hours. It absolutely works - I was skeptical too until I tried it. The system calls the IRS, navigates all the prompts, waits on hold (which took about 45 minutes in my case), and then when an actual IRS agent answered, I got a call connecting me directly to them. Totally worth it to get definitive answers about my disability and child tax credit eligibility straight from the IRS.
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Diego Castillo
I have to publicly eat my words about Claimyr. After being super skeptical about it actually working, I tried it out of desperation last week. I've been trying to get clear answers about my disability payments and child tax credit eligibility for MONTHS. I was shocked when I actually got connected to an IRS agent after only waiting about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed that even with just disability income, I qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit's refundable portion for 2022. She explained exactly how to file to make sure I get the credit. Saved me from missing out on about $3,000 I didn't think I qualified for based on what my tax preparer told me. Sometimes being wrong feels pretty good!
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Logan Stewart
Make sure you understand the difference between the regular Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Without earned income, you'll only qualify for the refundable ACTC portion, which is up to $1,500 per child for 2022. Also, check if your disability payments are taxable or non-taxable. SSI is non-taxable, while SSDI might be taxable depending on your total income. This affects your overall tax situation.
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Tami Morgan
•This is really helpful! So there's a regular Child Tax Credit AND an Additional Child Tax Credit? My disability is SSDI if that matters. Would I still file a tax return even though my SSDI isn't taxable based on my total income amount?
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Logan Stewart
•Yes, there are two parts to the credit. The regular Child Tax Credit is non-refundable (only helps if you owe taxes), while the Additional Child Tax Credit is refundable (you can get it even without owing taxes). You should absolutely file a tax return even if your SSDI isn't taxable! That's the only way to claim the refundable credits you're eligible for. Many people on disability don't file because they don't have taxable income, and they miss out on these refundable credits. For 2022, you could get up to $1,500 per qualifying child through the ACTC.
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Mikayla Brown
Anyone know if this is different for 2023 taxes? Will be in a similar situation.
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Rami Samuels
•For 2023, the rules are similar to 2022. The expanded 2021 version (which was fully refundable) has expired. You'll still be able to claim up to $1,500 per qualifying child as a refundable credit through the ACTC, even with only disability income. The total Child Tax Credit remains $2,000 per qualifying child for 2023, with up to $1,500 being refundable through the ACTC.
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