topic Re: Child Dependent in Deductions & credits

Child Dependent

JDon — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 04:13:29 GMT

At the time of filing taxes my divorce was not final however I wanted to file separately. So I selected Married filling separately. I believe I also selected head of household. I claimed our adult full time student (age 20) who I pay all living expenses for to include tuition. I only received a $500 credit. Did I make a wrong selection? My gross income is over 100k. I read somewhere if filing separately only get full child credit if make under a certain dollar amount. Do I need to amend something for last year and how should I file going forward? (Divorce now final)

Re: Child Dependent

xmasbaby0 — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:28:15 GMT

No, you did not make a mistake. You do not get the child tax credit for a child older than 16. For your 20 year old student, you get the $500 credit for other dependents.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6xFeMFEf_US_en_US?uid=lqnuygah

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

Re: Child Dependent

Opus 17 — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 17:10:23 GMT

The maximum credit for a dependent over age 16 is $500. And unfortunately, you are not eligible for any of the college tuition credits from your child's tuition because those credits are disallowed for the married filing separate status. (This is part of the law as Congress passed it, I don't know why.)

However, the intangible benefits of separating your finances are probably worth the money you would have gotten from the tuition credit.

In the case where the child can be claimed as a dependent, but the parent choses not to claim the child, the child can claim the tuition credits on their own tax return. However, the credit can only be used to negate a tax bill, it can't be refunded if the child owes no tax. If your child has more than about $20,000 of income, it may be the case that if you (a) filed an amended return to remove your child and pay back the $500, and (b) your child filed an amended return to claim the credit, they might get more in credit than you have to pay back. But the only way to know is to test it, and this only has a chance of working if the child's income is at least $20,000.