My son turned 18 on Feb 10, 2022 and is a junior in High School. The IRS adjusted my return saying he didn't qualify for the child tax credit. I am confused.

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
April 26, 2022
1 reply
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I am confused since he is still in high school and was 17 in all of 2021.

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macuser_22

Alumni - Champ

Return to the personal information section, dependents and delete the dependent, then when re-entering be sure to check the box that he is a full-time student and that he did NOT support himself.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**

Opus 17

Level 15

@macuser_22 wrote:

Return to the personal information section, dependents and delete the dependent, then when re-entering be sure to check the box that he is a full-time student and that he did NOT support himself.

Be careful, the taxpayer has already filed. Any changes would need to be made on an amended tax return. Don't make any changes to your tax file until and unless you are ready to file the amended return.

Also, if the taxpayer filed and the IRS adjusted their return, then the taxpayer already claimed the proper credit and the IRS denied it, so filing an amended return or changing the tax file won't help.

@rntayfam2021

Print a copy of the return you filed. My guess is that the box for "child tax credit" in the list of dependents will be checked (which is correct if the child's birth date is as you say).

Also, if your son filed a tax return, print a copy of his tax return and see if the box for "someone can claim you as a dependent" is checked. If that box is not checked, then he filed as if he was not a dependent, and he may have gotten a $1400 rebate on his own tax return (line 30). You and the child can't both get a rebate.

Did you get any advance child tax credit payments? If you got advance payments, you have to take that into account since you can't get paid twice. And, if the IRS thinks they sent advance payments but you never got them, you have to trace the missing payment instead of requesting it on your tax return. To see what the IRS thinks they sent you as advance payments, go here.

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/advance-child-tax-credit-payments-in-2021

If you didn't get advance payments, you will likely need to wait for the IRS to send a letter of explanation, and then probably call them. It may be that they have the birth date wrong in their files. Or it may be that your son failed to check the box and claimed his own rebate as if he was not a dependent.