Thank you so much for your guys' response.
I saw this from IRS website. That's why I am thinking about it. The dad (my friend) choose not support his son for 6 months, so the boy will not go to his dependent part. So the dad think he can keep going to efile (no conflict with his son's return) , but the turbo tax claim the son as qualifying child for the Earned income credit.
AS someone mentioned, maybe it's not for my friend's case. still confused because the boys is not anyone's dependent .
From https://www.irs.gov/faqs/earned-income-tax-credit#:~:text=my%20qualifying%20child%3F-,Answer%3A,for%...
Must I be entitled to claim a child as a dependent to claim the earned income credit based on the c...
Answer:
Generally, you don't have to be entitled to claim the child as a dependent to claim the earned income credit based on the child being your qualifying child, because the support test for qualifying child as a dependent does not apply for the earned income credit. However, if your qualifying child was married at the end of your tax year, he or she can't be your qualifying child unless you meet one of the following conditions:
- You're entitled to claim the child as a dependent, or
- The reason you're not entitled to claim the child as a dependent is that you released a claim to a dependency exemption for the child under the special rule for divorced or separated parents or parents who live apart
