If you qualify to be claimed as a dependent, you must answer “yes” that you can be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return. You’ll also be asked if the person who could claim you, will claim you, which only impacts your eligibility for certain education credits.
Answering “no” to the question, when you could be claimed, is potentially tax fraud. It could prevent TurboTax from calculating the Kiddie Tax for a dependent who has unemployment compensation or other unearned income. And specifically, for tax year 2020, it would qualify a taxpayer for a fraudulent recovery rebate. If you’re audited, you’d have to repay any improper refund, with interest, and potentially pay a penalty.
Don’t worry though, we’re here to help! As you go through the My Info screens in TurboTax, we’ll ask you a series of questions to get all of the info we need to prepare your return.
Related Information:
- What if somebody already claimed my dependent?
- How do I add or remove a dependent?
- How do I add a dependent's W-2 to my return?
- What to do if you suspect tax-related identity theft
- TurboTax Online instructions for E-file reject R0000-507-01: A dependent on your return has already been claimed (or claimed themselves) on another return