App Immediately defaults to ineligible for child tax credit even though no information for the child had been entered. He was born early February 2025 he IS eligible

[jserrao15]

I’m not gonna pay $150 to fix your TT app for you. The issue isn’t on my end.

[DoninGA]

Go back to My Info on the left side of the online program screen. Edit the dependent and carefully check your answers to the questions.

Note - A child born in 2025 is deemed to have lived in your home for the entire year.

Make sure you select them as your Child, that you selected that they lived in your home for the Whole Year, temporary absence for education is deemed living in your home. That they did NOT provide over one-half of their own support (You Did), that you indicated there was no one else in the household providing support to them, and that you did NOT check the box labeled Not valid for employment in the Social Security number section.

If all your answers are correct then delete them as a dependent and re-enter.

[xmasbaby0]

You probably answered something incorrectly in MY INFO.   Go back to MY INFO, click the child’s name  and go through all of the interview questions carefully and slowly.  Read every screen top to bottom.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

If your dependent was a full-time college student, make sure you were careful on the MY INFO screen for “Uncommon situations” and that you indicated there that they were a student.

Have you entered income from working in 2025?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2200 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  

Take the amount you earned from working.   Subtract $2500.   Multiply the rest by 15%.  That is the additional child tax credit per child that you canget—- up to the maximum of $1700 per child.   If the amount you earned from working was low, you will not get the full $1700 per child.

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2025, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-tax-credit/L2lNhfGDl_US_e...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6x...

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

And for the Earned Income Credit—-

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-ea...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

Look at your 2025 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-retur...

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

[jserrao15]

There’s no option to add a dependent. I verify my info then it immediately kicks me to income. It doesn’t prompt me to and dependents there’s also no button on any of those pages to add any. I triple checked and I’ve cleared the form twice to start over. At no point is there anyway for me to add him

[jserrao15]

It never gave me an option to add any dependents so I know I didn’t put in anything wrong for him,  Because at no point was I prompted to add him or my wife. Even though I claimed her last year

[DoninGA]

@jserrao15 So what happens when you click on My Info on the left side of the online program screen?  Can you Edit your personal information?

[jserrao15]

It’s not on the left side of my screen. I’m on the app there are square buttons the whole way down when I click on my info the only thing that comes up is mine. It asks me to verify my info. I click on verify, and it immediately jumps me to income. There’s no button to add dependence on that page

[DoninGA]

@jserrao15 Are you using a Mobile app on your phone?  Or are you using laptop or desktop computer?

[jserrao15]

iPhone. It’s what I have to work with

[Danw1106]

The software for 2025 is Is not correctly calculating the child tax credit for qualifying children. It’s not allowing the 2200 as a tax deduction and then looking at the potential 1700 for a refund. I’ve deleted both children re-entered them and it’s still not correctly looking at their eligibility. I’ve answered all of the questions correctly. The software is not working correctly.

[xmasbaby0]

 How odd.  We have not had any other reports that the software is not calculating the ACTC correctly.   

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2025?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2200 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  

Take the amount you earned from working.   Subtract $2500.   Multiply the rest by 15%.  That is the additional child tax credit per child that you canget—- up to the maximum of $1700 per child.   If the amount you earned from working was low, you will not get the full $1700 per child.

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2025, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-tax-credit/L2lNhfGDl_US_e...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6x...

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

And for the Earned Income Credit—-

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-ea...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

Look at your 2025 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-retur...

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

AND….If you have children but had  little or no income, it raises the question of how you and the children were supported.  There may be another tax-paying adult who can claim you and/or the children as dependents.  

@Danw1106

[jserrao15]

It doesn’t let me get that far in my info the ONLY thing it will let me do is verify my own info. There is no prompt/on screen option to add a child I’ve already reinstalled 2X and cleared my info a few times as well. Theres just no button for it after I hit verify it immediately jumps me to income. I would love it if I just put the info in wrong

[jserrao15]

I entered my income then got to the deductions but when I click on the child credit it just tells me I’m not eligible. I had over 40k last year from the same job I’ve been at for 15 years. He was only born in early February and my wife and him both need to be on as dependents but it won’t let me add them. 
also this is not an isolated issue if you look around online there’s a number of people trying to find help with this same thing on Reddit, FB, etc. 

[xmasbaby0]

 You cannot claim your wife as a dependent.  A spouse can never be claimed as a dependent.   Instead, you file a joint return.   You can file a joint return even if one spouse has little or no income.

And to claim your newborn--You must say in MY INFO that he lived with you the WHOLE YEAR.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question

@jserrao15

[jserrao15]

Not actually my wife it’s just easier than explaining it. 
second, it doesn’t let me get that far. The ONLY thing I can do in my info is verify my own info I press verify and the screen it immediately takes me to asks me for my income. At no point am I prompted or given a button to add any dependents. I click my info it opens a page that asks me to verify my own info (there is no button on this screen to add a dependent). I tap verify and it takes me to income.