Social Security, Tax Credits, and Financial Benefits for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Florida

Florida's state-level kinship programs — Relative Caregiver Program, Child-Only TCA, Medicaid — get most of the attention. But federal financial benefits are often larger, more reliable, and available regardless of whether you went through DCF. If you're a grandparent or relative raising a child in Florida, here's what you may be entitled to.

Social Security Benefits for Grandchildren

A grandchild may qualify for Social Security benefits on your earnings record if the eligibility conditions below are met:

1. You're receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits (or have died, in which case the child may qualify for survivor benefits)
2. The child is under 18 (or under 19 if still in high school full-time)
3. Generally, the child's natural or adoptive parents are deceased or disabled, unless you legally adopted the child. The child must also have begun living with you before age 18 and received at least half of their support from you during the year before you became entitled to benefits or died.

If the child was born during that one-year period, SSA applies the living-together and support test to substantially all of the period from the child's birth until you became entitled to benefits or died. Records of the child's residence and the support you provided can help document these facts.

A grandchild's benefit is typically up to 50% of your full retirement benefit (up to 75% for survivor benefits if you've passed away). The family maximum applies — if multiple dependents are drawing on your record, each person's benefit may be reduced.

GPO and WEP are repealed. The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82, signed January 5, 2025) eliminated the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision for benefits payable January 2024 onward. SSA began retroactive adjustments in February 2025 and implementation is complete. If your own retirement benefit or a spouse or survivor benefit was reduced under the old rules, check your SSA adjustment and retroactive pay. If you never applied because of the old rules, file a new claim; it is not automatic.

To apply, visit your local SSA office with the child's birth certificate, your custody order or guardianship letters, and proof of the child's dependency on you.

The Child Tax Credit

Having a Chapter 751 or Chapter 744 order does not by itself determine who can claim a child tax credit. For tax year 2025, you may qualify for the Child Tax Credit if the child meets the IRS qualifying-child tests, which generally include being under 17 and living with you for more than half the year. The credit is up to $2,200 per qualifying child, with up to $1,700 refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit if you meet its requirements.

To claim the credit, you must:

• Include the child as a dependent on your tax return
• Provide the child's Social Security number
• Have a valid-for-employment Social Security number issued by the return due date for yourself and the child (for a joint return, at least one filer must meet the SSN rule)
• Meet the IRS qualifying-child relationship test (for example, a grandchild or a qualifying niece or nephew)
• Meet the residency test (child lived with you for more than half the year)

The credit phases out at higher incomes ($200,000 for single filers, $400,000 for married filing jointly), but most kinship caregivers on fixed incomes are well below these thresholds.

Earned Income Tax Credit

If you have earned income (wages, self-employment, or other work income), you may also qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) by claiming the grandchild as a qualifying child. The EITC is fully refundable and can be worth several thousand dollars — the exact amount depends on your income and how many qualifying children you claim.

Grandparents who are retired and living on Social Security alone won't qualify for the EITC because Social Security income doesn't count as earned income. But if you work part-time — even modestly — and your total income is below the EITC thresholds, check your eligibility. The IRS EITC Assistant tool on irs.gov walks you through it.

Child and Dependent Care Credit and FSA

If you pay for daycare, after-school care, or summer day camp so you can work or look for work, you may qualify for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. For tax year 2026, the credit is calculated on up to $3,000 in qualifying expenses for one person ($6,000 for two or more), with a rate of 20% to 50% depending on your adjusted gross income.

The care must be for a child under 13, and you must have earned income. Overnight camps don't qualify. You'll need the care provider's name, address, and tax ID number (Form W-10 from the provider, or their EIN/SSN).

If your employer offers a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA), you can set aside up to $7,500 pre-tax for dependent care expenses in tax year 2026. You can't use the same expenses for both the FSA exclusion and the tax credit, so run the numbers for your situation.

Claiming the Child: Who Gets Priority?

If a child meets the qualifying-child tests for both you and a parent, IRS tiebreaker rules determine who may claim the child:

• If one claimant is the child's parent and the other is not, the parent generally has priority
• If both parents can claim the child, the parent the child lived with longer during the year generally claims the child; if the child lived with each parent for the same amount of time, the parent with the higher adjusted gross income generally claims the child
• If no parent can claim the child, the person with the highest adjusted gross income generally claims the child

A Chapter 751 order may help document where the child lives, but it does not replace the IRS residency and tiebreaker rules.

Putting It Together

The combined value of these benefits can be substantial. A grandparent on Social Security who claims a grandchild could receive:

• A grandchild's Social Security dependent benefit (hundreds per month)
• $2,200 Child Tax Credit for tax year 2025 (up to $1,700 refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit if eligible)
• Child and Dependent Care Credit if paying for childcare
• EITC if working part-time

Federal Social Security and tax benefits use their own eligibility tests and are not limited to DCF dependency placements. A Chapter 751 order may help document the child's living arrangement, but it does not by itself establish eligibility for these benefits.

The Florida guardianship and custody guide covers the full range of financial benefits available to kinship caregivers, including state programs (TCA, Medicaid, SNAP, KidCare) and how they interact with federal benefits.

See more Florida guides →