Amending 2024 tax return

[berniek1]

I wish to amend my return to remove my dependent daughter and claim her on her own return.

Do I need to amend my return first and when accepted by IRS then amend the child's return ?

[xmasbaby0]

"I wish to amend my return to remove my dependent daughter and claim her on her own return."

To be clear---you already filed a tax return and claimed your daughter as a dependent and now you want to amend and remove her as a dependent?    She will not be able to e-file if you already filed a return that used her Social Security number, so she will have to mail in her own return that says no one can claim her.  She does not have to wait for you to amend.

Another thing she can try that may work is to get a six digit IRS PIN and try to e-file:

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-takes-steps-to-help-prevent-refund-delays-by-accepting-duplicate-de...

https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-fraud-scams/get-an-identity-protection-pin

When you amend your own return you will need to go to MY INFO to remove your daughter as a dependent.

Wait until your original return has been fully processed before you amend, and make sure you have saved a pdf of the original return before you amend. (If you do not save it as a pdf, the amended return will overwrite the original, and the original will be lost forever)

See this TurboTax support FAQ for amending a tax return -

CURRENT YEAR

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/amend-federal-tax-return-curr...

[VolvoGirl]

Couple things.....

1.  You need to first find out if she still qualifies as your dependent, even if you don't claim her.  You might not have a choice.  Even if you don't claim her, she might have to file her return and check the box that says she can be claimed on someone else's return.  How old is she?  Is she a full time college student?  

2.  What exactly happened?  In what order?  Were both the returns efiled and both Accepted?  Or did 1 return reject?  Yours or hers?  You only need to amend the return that was filed.  Not the one that rejected.  Why do you need to amend both?   Did she try to claim  herself and it was rejected?  

[berniek1]

She is a full tme college student age 20. My return was accepted. Her's rejected code F1040-516-01 "PrimaryClaimAsDependent is not checked, then 'PrimarySSN' must not be the same as a Dependent SSN on another return filed for the same tax year".  Return was then resubmitted acknowledging her as a dependent on my return and accepted.

She was as a result not able to claim the AOTC tax credit. I should not have listed her as my dependent , thus I believe I would have to  correct my return to avoid the same reject again. Why wouldn't I have a choice as you stated?

Thank you

[VolvoGirl]

Sorry, she qualifies as your dependent.  You can leave her on your return and only need to fix (not amend) her rerturn.   On her return she needs to check the box under My Info that she can be claimed as a dependent.  Then she can efile.    Oh, she fixed that and efiled ok?  Then you don't have to do anything on your return or her return.  

I don't know about the AOTC.   @xmasbaby0 

[xmasbaby0]

Oh---wait-----you are about to make a mistake.   At age 20, she is a qualified child dependent.   There is not a "choice" about saying she cannot be claimed on her own return.   The rules is that if she CAN  be claimed, she must say on her own return that someone else can claim her.    If she already filed that way, then leave her return alone.    If she has not yet filed, then in MY INFO she must say that someone else can claim her as a dependent.

The education credit goes on YOUR return---not on the dependent student's return.   If you filed without using the education credit, then that is what you should be changing if you amend--not changing to remove your daughter as a dependent.   Dependents cannot claim education credits.

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2024 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
• No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
• They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
• They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

Qualifying relative

• They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
• They made less than $5050 in 2024 (not counting Social Security)
• You provided more than half of their financial support.

When you add someone as a dependent, we'll ask a series of questions to make sure you can claim them. There may be other tax benefits you can get when you claim a dependent.

Related Information:

• What does "financially support another person" mean?

[xmasbaby0]

AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/eligible-take-ame...

AOC will be shown on line 29 of your Form 1040

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/am-i-eligible-to-claim-an-education-credit