TurboTax gave me the AOTC refund in 2020 when I do not qualify for it. I meet all requirements but am under 24. They did not factor in my age. How do I fix this?

[RobertB4444]

You will need to amend your 2020 tax return and make sure that your birthdate is entered correctly.

To do this:

1.  Log in to your TurboTax account

2. Find the year you want to amend and click on it.

3. Click amend my return

Here is a TurboTax article on Amending your return.

[mnhemenway]

My birthdate is entered correctly. This is a mistake on TurboTax’s part. I need to pay back the money and there is no section of 1040x that allows me to do that. It focuses on income but does not allow for a correction to refundable credits.

[RobertB4444]

You need to change the optimizer which is making the program select the best possible deduction for your education credits.  

To do this go to the search field in your return and search for letme (all one word, no spaces).  This will take you to the section where you can adjust the tax credit yourself.

The steps are detailed in this article from TurboTax.

[mnhemenway]

This is for a previously submitted tax return. From 2020. If I am to incur penalties from the IRS I would like information to contact TurboTax so that they may pay for the penalties as it was a mistake in their software, not my input.

[RobertB4444]

TurboTax has a 100% accurate expert-approved accuracy guarantee so if you feel that there was an error in the TurboTax software on in advice that you received from TurboTax which caused you to incur penalties or interest then TurboTax will pay them.

Go to this page to submit your claim against the guarantee.

[Hal_Al]

Why do you think you do not qualify for the AOTC?   Being under 24 does not automatically disqualify you. What disqualifies you is being full time, unmarried student, under age 24, who did not provide more than half his/her own support with earned income.

Here's more bad news: this is, most likely, NOT TurboTax's mistake. After it detects your age and FT student status, it asks you the support question.  You, most likely, answered that wrong.  The most common mistake is you read it as "did you provide more than half your own support" rather than "did you provide more than half your own support with earned income".

That brings up another issue: If you did not meet the support test, why are you not your parent's dependent? It is usually best if the parent claims that credit. 

[mnhemenway]

Being under 24 does disqualify me from receiving any refund due to the AOTC. I still qualify for non-refundable tax credits, but TurboTax did give me the refund. It did not detect my age correctly. I was not a dependent and answered questions correctly. I supplied my income myself. That is not the problem. The form 8863 for 2020 reads on line 7 “Caution: If you were under age 24 at the end of the year and meet the conditions described in the instructions, you can’t take the refundable American opportunity credit; skip line 8, enter the amount from line 7 on line 9, and check this box.” I met all of the required qualifications except age. I was under the age of 24, yet TurboTax still included the refundable American opportunity credit. 

[Hal_Al]

@mnhemenway said "does not allow for a correction to refundable credits."

If you indicate that no one can claim you as a dependent, TurboTax (TT) will allow you the refundable portion of the AOTC, up to the amount of your tax liability.

In you indicate that someone CAN claim you as a dependent, you must also indicate that no one will actually claim you, to get  the refundable portion of the AOTC, up to the amount of your tax liability. That is, you parents must forego the $500 dependent credit to allow you to claim the education credit.

To prepare an amended return, you sometimes have to go thru much of the interview, again, including the personal info and education sections

[mnhemenway]

NO ONE CAN CLAIM ME AS A DEPENDENT. I am reading my previous tax documents directly. TurboTax miscalculated and the system gave me an incorrect credit. There was no mistake on my part. I would like to speak to someone in a managerial position about this issue. I have called the IRS and they confirmed that it was incorrectly awarded to me. Based on my age. Please give me information to contact someone who can be useful in solving this issue.

[Hal_Al]

This is a user to user forum. 

To contact TurboTax (TT) support:
https://turbotax.intuit.com/support/contact/index.jsp 

In the search line enter some keywords or question without quotes. On the next page, skip the suggested topic links and scroll down until you see CALL US.  It should show the wait times.   Free support is not available to Free Edition users. You will have to upgrade to talk to a representative.

Live help is available 7 days per week from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. PST. (Jan 11- Apr 21)

[Hal_Al]

@mnhemenway said "I supplied my income myself"

What was the source of that income? If more than half was earned income (wages or self employment) you qualify for the refundable portion of the AOTC.

@mnhemenway  Said "Being under 24 does disqualify me from receiving any refund due to the AOTC".

No.  Being under 24 AND meeting  the conditions described in the instructions disqualifies you.  Being under 24, alone, does not disqualify you. Those conditions are:

1. He was:
.....a. Under age 18 at the end of 2020, or 
......b. Age 18 at the end of 2020 and his earned income was less than one-half of his support, or 
......c. A full-time student over age 18 and under age 24 at the end of 2020 and his earned income was less than one-half of his support .
2. At least one of his parents was alive at the end of 2020.
3. He is not filing a joint return with his spouse for 2020.

[mnhemenway]

Are you a robot? It’s like nothing I’ve said has been heard. My parent was alive and I am under 24. That is why I don’t qualify. Yet TurboTax qualified me. My age was input correctly. TurboTax does not have the AOTC section developed properly. I have sent multiple other complaints for errors and issues.

[mnhemenway]

*seen not sent

[Hal_Al]

You say: "My parent was alive and I am under 24. That is why I don’t qualify."

No.  Those two items. alone, do not disqualify you. You need the third item: your earned income was less than half your support.

The one piece of information still missing is:  did more than half your support come from your earned income. 

If it didn't, you don't qualify for the refundable portion of the AOTC.  If TT gave you the refundable portion anyway, it's because you answered the support question wrong.