We normally get a large refund, and for some reason this year its only $150. We said no to CTC but some reason its giving us $500 with no Childs. Dependent causing issu

[carolyn-zotz]

issues.  Something with the dependent is messing up.  Not sure if that's why we are not getting our full refund we get every year of XXXX.

[MayaD]

If you have dependents who don't qualify for the Child Tax Credit, you may be able to claim the Credit for Other Dependents. The maximum credit amount is $500 for each dependent who meets certain conditions. These, include:

• Dependents who are age 17 or older.
• Dependents who have individual taxpayer identification numbers.
• Dependent parents or other qualifying relatives supported by the taxpayer.
• Dependents living with the taxpayer who aren't related to the taxpayer.

The situations below are some of the most common reasons why you might be getting less money than you expected:

• Did your income increase?
• Did you adjust your withholding to maximize your take home pay?
• Did you receive unemployment benefits, but didn’t have taxes withheld?
• You earned little or no income, and didn't qualify for the Earned Income Credit (unemployment doesn't count as earned income)
• Did you sell stock?
• Did you take an early withdrawal from your retirement account?
• Did you claim the Recovery Rebate Credit, but overestimated the amount or didn't qualify?

[SweetieJean]

Also check your data entry for any mistakes, especially commas and decimal points. 

And be aware that there were some tax law changes from 2020 to 2021.  For example, the first $10,200 of unemployment comp is no longer deductible. Another change for 2021 is the return of required minimum distributions — amounts that must be withdrawn from most retirement accounts by a certain age — after being waived in 2020.