Parents passed away and I've been caring for both my little brother and sister since may2013. i read online that h&r block online tax program might not give me as much money as i should get because they arent my own children, is this true? should i use turbotax, doesl it matter who's kids they are?

neither of them work, one is 13 the other is 18 and a college student. in california your parents are responsible for your education until youre 24, in our circumstance, can i be considered responsible and therefore claim some school expenses?

#1;Not true;aslongas you meet requirements to meet them as your dependents, yes you can claim them either as your qualifying children/relatives.

#2;I am not familiar with the software I guess yes you can. Please contact the vendor for more info in detail.



#3;Since they are younger than 19 YO yes;they must have the same residdnce as you the TP for more than half of the year. they must NOT provide over 50% of their own support; they must not file their returns jointly i know that this is not their case; for edu exp deductions,you and students cannot claim the deductions at the same time. In some instances, no one is eligible to claim the deduction.For example,Unless your filing status is MFS, you can claim the tuition and fees tax paid by you by subtracting the claimed amount from your pre-tax income to lower your tax obligation. Only expenses that are mandatory and required for enrollment at an institution of higher education are eligible for the deduction. You who cannot claim the tuition and fees tax deduction are also ineligible to claim alternate educational tax credits or deductions, such as the American Opportunity Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.If the students paid their own educational fees and they are not listed as your dependents in the exemption section of your tax return, they are entitled to claim the tuition and fees tax deduction for themselves. However, ifthey are listed in the exemption section of your tax return, but they paid their own educational expenses, no one can claim the tuition and fees tax deduction.
So in genral,you can claim the tuition and fees deduction if You pay qualified education expenses of higher education; You pay the education expenses for eligible students;The eligible students are your dependents for whom you claim an exemption on your tax return