Applied to ITIN for child with tax return. Claimed as dependent and claimed child tax credit.

[Mertthy]

This is my first time filing. I filed my tax return by mail to Apply for ITIN number for my child and claimed him as dependent on my tax return. But recently i found out that if he does not have ssn he will not be eligible for child tax credit. Since it was already sent by mail what will irs reaction to that be? Will they reject my filing? Will I be fined in some kind of way? Or will they do the math and give me credit for other dependents? I am so afraid as what to do. Please help.

[Opus 17]

What kind of SSN did you use in TurboTax to get it to print and give you the credits? You must have used a fake SSN of some kind?  

The IRS should automatically correct the child tax credit and remove the recovery rebate once the return is processed with an ITIN.  This would reduce your refund by up to $2600 depending on your income.  If that results in you owing tax, the IRS will send a bill and you may owe interest and a small late fee if you pay after April 15 (about 1% per month of what you owe).  If the correction just reduces your claimed refund there won’t be any additional penalty.  

[Mertthy]

Thank you so much for the reply!

I left it empty while finishing my filing. And did not claim recovery refund for this child. However claimed recovery refund credit for our newborn. If the remove the child applied ITIN for I am fine with it. However they will probably refuse to give the ITIN since there is no reason for that request right? They might just reject and expect me to file again?

[Opus 17]

I’m surprised TurboTax allowed you to print a tax return with a blank Social Security number for one of your dependents.  If you claimed the child on your return, that will be enough reason for the IRS to issue the ITIN.  TurboTax should also not have given you the $2000 child tax credit for a dependent without an SSN, although it may have given you the $500 credit for a “other dependent.”  In that case, no financial adjustments would be needed when the ITIN is  issued and the return is processed.

However, I am not quite understanding your statement. If you prepared a tax return and you listed child #1 who had a Social Security number, and you did not list child #2 as a dependent because they had no Social Security number, but you included a W7 application for child #2, the IRS may indeed send that back to you for correction. But it is not clear to me from your statements exactly what you did.

[Mertthy]

I tought i would be able to claim 2000 usd child tax credit and turbo tax allowed me to claim it without puting in any ssn. Nothing regarding to other dependant credit has been entered. And since i have 2 children 1 without ssn it cleary says 4.000 usd on 1040. I have called irs and like you said they would just cancel out that 2000 usd credit. However they also said that w7 application with federal tax return is a must but 2 separate things thus It would not affect my application and they would process my tax return. But still whether i will get ITIN in this situation or they will accept my return remains a mystery.

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

If you mailed the tax return and the W-7 ITIN application in the same envelope to the address in Austin, Texas for processing the W-7 application, then the IRS should issue the ITIN first and then forward your return for regular processing.

[Mertthy]

Wow that is the answer actually. Thank you so much for allowing me to have a better calm mindset untill then. Stay safe anf healthy.

[bbarron911]

Hello,

I have a similar situation, I am a citizen, I have a dependent without a SSN, I will apply for the ITIN, I will send my W7 along with my tax return. Turbo tax does allow me to print my return without writing a SSN in the SSN box for my dependent, however, turbo tax automatically gives me the EIC, I know I don't qualify because my dependent doesn't have a SSN, it doesn't give me the option to change the EIC credit or select the credit for other dependent, should I send it like that and the IRS will automatically correct the credit, that is, reduce the amount I receive?

Thanks!

[Opus 17]

@bbarron911 

turboTax should not allow EIC if you have not entered a Social Security number. No one on this forum can see your tax file to understand what is going on. Possibly there is a program error, or possibly something strange has happened in your tax file.

Since you have to print the tax return and mail it to the IRS along with the form W-7, keep a copy and take the time to review the form carefully and pay close attention to what it says about the dependents on the front page. If you list the dependent with no Social Security number, the box for the $2000 child tax credit should also not be checked.

If I were you, I would not mail the return until I had a better understanding of what’s going on. This might require calling TurboTax customer support so they can do a screen share with your account. However, if you do mail a tax return which incorrectly claims EIC, the IRS should automatically remove it.