I was told to call back to amend my taxes due to me not working but looking for work during 2018. I was told that I could use the "person was a full time student" option.

[xmasbaby0]

Did you have income for 2018?  What is it you are wanting to enter for 2018?

[Opus 17]

Are you trying to claim an education credit?  Or maybe the dependent care credit?  Were you actually a full time student or someone just "told you" to claim it?

[jaybarber13]

dependent care credit

[Opus 17]

Were you actually a full time student?  In which months?  Did you actually pay for care of a qualifying student so that you could attend school full time?  Do you have any taxable income (you said you were not working).

[jaybarber13]

My spouse and I did pay for childcare for our daughter during that time. But no I did not attend school full time, I was trying to find a job and worked very part-time.

[xmasbaby0]

You will not be able to claim the childcare credit. Just “looking” for work is not enough. You have to actually find work and earn income from the work to get that credit. And if you were not a full- time student then you just do not qualify for the childcare credit at all.

[jaybarber13]

Well you all have an employee who is informing customers that this is an option for them. This is why I contacted you all due to being advised to amend my tax return for this reason. It would not have been fraud on my part which is why I wanted to verify.

[Opus 17]

We can flag this, the board moderators don't have access to your tax return but can see the records of your customer service calls.

[Opus 17]

Also FWIW, the only safe way to get a customer support number is to use the web form, it's clumsy but it is their preferred method.  If you google turbotax customer support, you are likely to get a wrong number from an accounting firm, or plain scammer, who has paid google to boost them in search results, and who want to charge you for support or steal your information.

[jaybarber13]

ok thanks

[Opus 17]

Although care that provided while you look for work is "qualifying" care for the credit, the dollar amount of the credit is limited by your actual earned income.  So if you looked for work but didn't actually find work, then you don't get the dependent care credit.  If you lie and claim you were a full time student, you would qualify for a portion of the credit for each month in which you claim to be a full time student.  If audited, and you could not prove you were a student, you would be assessed back taxes, late fees, interest, and an additional 25% penalty for deliberate fraud.  While the IRS normally can only audit you for 3 years (statute of limitations) there is no statute of limitations for intentional fraud.

[jaybarber13]

Well you all have an employee who is informing customers that this is an option for them. This is why I contacted you all due to being advised to amend my tax return for this reason. It would not have been fraud on my part which is why I wanted to verify.

[Carl]

To add to @Opus 17 's comment, if you lie, get audited and get caught, you risk being denied the credit for up to 10 years as "punishment" for filing a fraudulent return.

[jaybarber13]

I was never going to lie which is why I wanted to verify that what your representative told me was accurate back in February. I know the law in regards to lying on tax returns. That was never my intent. One of your reps gave me this information. Please provide further training as some of us are receiving fraudulent information. Thank you.