amending dependent status necessary if actually not claimed as dependent?

[LJS65]

So I typically do my 22-year-old son's taxes first because they are simple and straightforward.  I noted on his return that he would be claimed as a dependent on our taxes as in the past and e-filed it.  However, when I got to our taxes, while he still lives at home, because he did not attend school in 2021 and had a full-time job, he could not be claimed as a dependent on our taxes, so we didn't claim him.    I when through his taxes again and unchecking that box did not seem to make any difference in his refund amount and again, we (his mother and I filing jointly) did not end up claiming him as a dependent on our taxes.   So my question is - do I need to submit a 1040X amendment for the change of selecting the box that he indicates that he would be claimed as a dependent on someone's taxes to that he will not be claimed as a dependent if it makes no results and no one actually claimed him as a dependent?

[MinhT1]

it will make a difference on his tax return if he files as a non-dependent because of the Recovery Rebate credit.

If you claimed him as a dependent on your last year's tax return (for 2020), you may have received the third stimulus for him (if you are not income limited).

In 2021, if your son is not your dependent, he is entitled to the third stimulus of $1,400 (even if you had received it for him last year - and you will not have to pay it back).

To claim the third stimulus for your son, you will have to amend his tax return to indicate that he is not a dependent and claim the Recovery rebate credit.

In TurboTax Online, to claim the Recovery Rebate credit please do the following:

1. Sign into your account and continue from where you left off
2. Click on Federal in the left-hand column, then on Federal Review on the top of the screen
3. On the next page titled Did you [or your spouse] get a third stimulus payment?, answer Yes or No
4. Follow the interview and answer all questions
5. TurboTax will determine whether you are entitled to any additional stimulus
6. Any stimulus amount remaining due to you will show as a credit on line 30 of your form 1040.

Please read this TurboTax Help topic for more information on the third stimulus.

[LJS65]

Thank you MinhT1 - As I was doing further research, I was trying to figure out if there was an impact on the Recovery Rebate Credit so appreciate the confirmation.  My wife and I did obtain the $2100 each last June that included my son's portion based on his status as a dependent in 2020.   Since I already e-filed his return, my understanding is that I should wait until the IRS completes the processing of the filing before submitting the 1040X with the changes.

Related to this, I don't use the online Turbo Tax but the Home and Business desktop version as I am an independent contractor with an LLC.  During the entire process of using the home and business version, the software never asked me about stimulus payments, on either my or my other son's return (I have a second 27-year-old son who has not been a dependent for several years but for whom I still do his taxes.).  All of us (I, my wife, and my oldest son) received a notice from the treasury about our 2021 Economic Impact Payment but again the Turbotax Home and Business version never brought it up and as I review through our return which has yet to be submitted or my younger son's return which I will amend, I can find no mention of the stimulus section.  In perusing the online forums, I found a similar post from someone using the Home and Business version who also can not find anything in the software related to the stimulus.  My situation seems the same as this man as I too can find no mention of stimulus in a search in the Home and Business version of Turbo tax. (https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/where-is-the-section-that-you-input-your-stimulus...)

[MinhT1]

1. For your son, please wait to receive any refund on the original return before amending his return.

2. TurboTax Home and Business, to access the stimulus section where you can enter the amount of stimulus already received so that TurboTax can calculate whether you are entitled to the Recovery rebate credit, please follow these steps:

1. Open your return
2. Click on Search on the upper right of your screen
3. In the search box, type in stimulus and click on the magnifying glass icon on the left of the Search box
4. The first search result is Jump to stimulus
5. Click on that link and TurboTax will take you to the section where you can follow the interview about stimulus payments.

[LJS65]

Actually never mind regarding the issue of finding the info for inputting the stimulus payment information for the 1040X for my son.    As it turns out, because we had him as a dependent, it was not a topic that even showed up in software so why it could not be found.  As soon as I checked the box that indicated he would not be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return, the stimulus payment query page showed up at the Federal Review section where it was not previously available.  So it appears that the software allows visibility and access to certain tax topics only if they apply to the situation.   When my son was listed as a dependent, that section on stimulus payments was not applicable and therefore was not visible or be found in a search within the software.  

Thanks again for the information MihnT1.  Solved my issue.  I will file the 1040X for him whenever the original return shows completed. 

[KrisD15]

Yes

that is true, if certain credits are not available, (if income is too high for example), questions regarding that credit won't be asked.