@anitaaustin wrote:
My son, who is over 17, was not a full time student this year so I entered that I didn't have dependents. That changed my filing status to single from head of household. Then, when he qualified for the tax credit, I entered for the tax credit but didn't realize that would show him as a dependent. Then when we submitted his tax return it was rejected because it said I claimed him as a dependent. Now I can't modify my return until it gets processed.
Turbo tax should have flagged that I marked no dependents when I marked for the tax credit. And possibly had me change my filing status back to head of household.
The issue is that I owe a ton in taxes and now my son won't get the stimulus check.
I marked not to take the money I own from my account until 4/10/21 and don't know if I need to wait till then to refile my taxes so my son can refile his. Or if I can just do it after the Feds process my forms but not the payment.
What a royal pain that could have been avoided if Turbo Tax would have flagged that issue or advised to change my filing status.
When using Turbotax online, it carries over your dependents from the previous year. You can't just say "no", you have to go into the list of dependents and either re-run the interview to see if they qualify, or delete them from the list of dependents. You should always print and review your return before e-filing and that would also have shown you the child in the list of dependents.
Also, the age limit is not 17, it is 18. For a child who is "under age 19" on December 31, they don't have to be a full time student to be a dependent, they only have to live in your home and not pay their own way.
