Do stay at home moms need to file taxes? Single mom wondering about Child Tax Credit

You should absolutely file your taxes! Disability benefits are generally considered taxable income (though sometimes partially exempt depending on the type), and as a single mom, you could potentially qualify for several valuable tax benefits. For the Child Tax Credit specifically, you need to have a qualifying child and earned income to receive the refundable portion. However, even without earned income, you can still claim the non-refundable portion up to your tax liability. Additionally, you might qualify for other credits like the Credit for Other Dependents, and possibly education credits since you mentioned being in school full-time. Without filing, you'd miss any potential refund of taxes that may have been withheld from your disability payments, plus any credits you're eligible for. The filing process will calculate whether you benefit or not.

I was in a similar situation last year dealing with disability payments and figuring out my tax obligations as a stay-at-home parent. It was super confusing trying to understand which benefits were taxable and whether I qualified for various credits. I eventually used https://taxr.ai to analyze my disability benefit statements and figure out exactly what I needed to report. The tool helped me understand that only a portion of my disability was actually taxable, which I had no idea about! It also guided me through which tax credits I qualified for with my specific situation. Apparently, there are different rules depending on whether your disability is short-term, long-term, private, or government-provided.

Update on my tax situation after checking out taxr.ai - I'm actually shocked at how helpful it was. I uploaded my disability payment statements and it immediately broke down which portions were taxable (only about 60% in my case). It also identified that I qualified for a partial Child Tax Credit even with only disability income, plus pointed out an education credit I could claim for my school expenses that I had no idea about! I was planning to skip filing this year thinking I wouldn't get anything back, but now I'm looking at a decent refund. The info was super clear about exactly what to enter in my tax software too.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're having trouble getting through to the IRS to ask questions about your disability income tax situation, I'd recommend https://claimyr.com - I used it last month after spending days trying to get through the IRS phone lines. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had questions about my disability payments and tax credits as a parent too, and needed to talk to an actual IRS rep. The service got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had previously been hung up on multiple times due to "high call volume." The agent clarified everything about my disability income reporting requirements and confirmed which credits I qualified for.

I owe an update and an apology about my skepticism on Claimyr. I was genuinely convinced it couldn't possibly work since I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about my disability payment tax questions. I decided to try it yesterday out of desperation, and I'm completely shocked - I was connected to an IRS representative in about 45 minutes without having to do anything except receive the call when they got through. The IRS agent confirmed that I only need to report a portion of my disability as taxable income AND that I qualify for a partial Child Tax Credit even though my only income was disability payments. This literally saved me hundreds of dollars because I was about to file without claiming the credit I'm entitled to. I've never been so happy to be wrong about something!

Just wanted to add another perspective - I'm also a single mom who was on disability last year. Something important to know: whether you need to file taxes depends on the TYPE of disability benefits you received. If it was Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), that's potentially taxable. If it was Supplemental Security Income (SSI), that's generally not taxable. Did you get a Form SSA-1099 in the mail? That would indicate SSDI payments. Or did you get disability through a private insurance policy or your employer? Those are handled differently for tax purposes.

Wait, I'm confused about something else. You mentioned you're in school full-time - are you receiving any financial aid or scholarships? Some of those might be taxable too, and you might qualify for education credits like the American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit. Those could be worth looking into even if you don't have much other income!