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You lost the child tax credit in the tax year that he turned 17.  There are no exceptions to that age limit for the CTC.   After age 16, you only get the $500 credit for other dependents.  Perhaps you did not notice.   If you paid for over half of his support in 2025 and he had less than $5200 of income not including Social Security, he might be a "qualified relative" dependent for you.   Qualifying relative They don't have to be related to you (despite the name). They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else. They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident. They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse. They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply). They made less than $5200 in 2025 (not counting Social Security) You provided more than half of their financial support.  

@meagain1 wrote: I'm tired of having to jump hoops for a product of declining value. Well, if you're comfortable with HRB, then you should just stick with that program. There are quite a few folks who do not care for the interface but that's apparently not an issue for you, so......

The VM solution is cumbersome and time consuming. All the Win11 reporting structure still remains. Noting that I have been unable to find a compliance letter from Microsoft as to the OS being HIPAA compliant I truly cannot believe the "security" claim (Win7 has that certification). The past few years I've been able to improve the install script to allow Win 7 as the core coding is unchanged. I expect for 2025 the same is true, but I'm tired of having to jump hoops for a product of declining value.

You can go back and edit your answers.   It may be easier to just delete that dependent and re-enter them so no bad information gets saved.   Go back to My Info - Personal Information and click on Edit or Review next to dependents.   Remove the dependent in question and re-add them.   How do I add or remove a dependent?

Standard deductions for 2025 Single - $15.750 add $2,000 if age 65 or older Married Filing Separately - $15,750 add $1,600 if age 65 or older Married Filing Jointly - $31,500 add $1,600 for each spouse age 65 or older Head of Household - $23,625 add $2,000 if age 65 or older   New Bonus Standard Deduction (OBBB): An additional $6,000 deduction for taxpayers 65 and older. This is per eligible individual, meaning a married couple both over 65 could get $12,000. Important: This bonus deduction is temporary, lasting from 2025 through 2028. Income limitations: It phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers. The amount is calculated on Schedule 1-A, Part V, with that amount flowing to Form 1040 Line 13b Look at your Form 1040 - You can view your Form 1040 plus Schedules 1, 2 and 3 at any time using the online editions. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

..or...double-check that actual pictures NY provides for it's DocIDs (and it is NOT the DMV number):   For NY??? Check the pictures provided by NY.  (It's not the DMV number)   Sample Photo Documents | NY DMV

How old is your brother, and is he permanently disabled and unable to work?   Most of the time, the rules for claiming a brother as a dependent would require that you pay more than half his financial support, and he must have less than $5200 of gross taxable income.  Taxable income does not include social security benefits but it does include wages, prizes, unemployment compensation, and other types of income.  There is a second set of rules that might apply if he is younger than you, under age 24, or disabled.  We would need more details to diagnose the situation.