When entering a child for dependent care their name isn't listed in the drop down box. I click add another person but they are listed there. Any ideas?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
February 8, 2022
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TurboTax Deluxe Online

xmasbaby0

Level 15

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number. If your child was born in 2021make sure you said he lived with you the whole year. There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support. Say NO to that question.

And...you do not get the childcare credit for a child older than 12.

When you are trying to get the childcare credit you have to enter your income----have you entered your W-2 or self-employment income yet? If you are fling jointly you have to show income under each spouse.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

kfuemmAuthor

Level 2

I have entered him as a dependent and he's under 12 years old. If I claim him for 7 months I get significantly more of a refund than if I claim him for 6 months. My concern is that if I enter 7 months and his mother is claiming head of household (I don't know how many months she claimed), that I could get audited. Not sure how to enter it.

Vanessa A

Level 15

In order to take the Dependent Care Credit, you must be the custodial parent. The custodial parent is the parent who has the child more than 6 months out of the year. So, if the child did not live with you for more than 6 months, you cannot claim this credit.

Child of divorced or separated parents or parents living apart.

Even if you can't claim your child as a dependent, he or she is treated as your qualifying person if:

The child was under age 13 or wasn't physically or mentally able to care for himself or herself;
The child received over half of his or her support during the calendar year from one or both parents who are divorced or legally separated under a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, are separated under a written separation agreement, or lived apart at all times during the last 6 months of the calendar year;
The child was in the custody of one or both parents for more than half the year; and
You were the child's custodial parent.

The custodial parent is the parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights in 2021. If the child was with each parent for an equal number of nights, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income. For details and an exception for a parent who works at night, see Pub. 501.

The noncustodial parent can't treat the child as a qualifying person even if that parent is entitled to claim the child as a dependent under the special rules for a child of divorced or separated parents." Pub 503

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