Grandparents Claiming Grandchildren for Tax Benefits: An Analysis of Over-napping Generations

William C. Boning, Adam J. Cole, Emily Horton, Laura Kawano, Sara LaLumia, Shanthi Ramnath and Caroline Weber

National Tax Journal, 2025, vol. 78, issue 3, 789 - 814

Abstract: We study grandparents claiming grandchildren on tax returns as dependents and for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Grandparents claimed roughly 2.1 million children as dependents on federal income tax returns for 2018. Grandparent-headed households with a dependent child were more likely to claim the CTC and EITC than parent-headed households with a dependent child. The prevalence of grandparents claiming grandchildren on tax returns has declined sharply over time. We explore how the interaction of tax rules with family living arrangements and income might explain these patterns.

Date: 2025
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