Child and Dependents Tax Credit

[Rowelax]

I am having an issue with turbo tax specifically the Child and Dependent tax credit.  I have 4 dependents.  2 children under the age of 17 ($2000 each), one who is 18 ($500 ), and a Mother In Law ($500).  The dependent credit is only showing $3500 when it should be  $5000.  I looked at the learn more in the program which says:

These credits include of the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents. If you have a child or someone you support almost entirely, there's a good chance you're eligible for one of these tax breaks.

The Child Tax Credit is a tax break that can benefit people with children under the age of 17. You can get up to $2,000 for each child you claim. That's money in your pocket.

The Other Dependent Tax Credit is a new $500 tax break for people with dependents who are 17 or older, not necessarily related to them, or have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of a Social Security number. Same deal here - you'll get $500 for each dependent you claim.

What am I missing here?

[xmasbaby0]

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 2024 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 2024?  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 $2000 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 can get—- 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 2024, 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...

Look at your 2024 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

[MindyB]

It sounds like one of your younger children is receiving the $500 credit instead of the $2,000 credit.  Revisit the entries for both of the younger children.  You noted that they were both under 17, so it is likely that there is a missed checkbox somewhere along the way. As @xmasbaby0 mentions, if your child was older than 16, they then become eligible for the $500 Other Dependent Credit instead of the Child Tax Credit.

 ‌Here's how to check your entries in TurboTax Online:

1. Navigate to My Info, Your household, select the first dependent. 
2. Choose "My child", continue and be sure their name, date of birth and proper citizenship is complete. 
3. Continue, and answer the question about living arrangements and parents. 
4. Continue, and answer any less common situations, if applicable. 
5. Lastly, enter the child's SSN and be sure that "Not valid for employment is printed..." is NOT checked.

[Rowelax]

In my Credits for Qualifying Children and other Dependents line 4 is only showing 1 while line 6 is showing 3.  It should be 2

Line 6 is "Number of other dependents, including any qualifying children who are not under age
17 or who do not have the required social security number"  that should be 2

I don't know why the personal info is not putting in the right number.

I checked the Personal Info for all the dependents 

[MindyB]

I would like to take a deeper look at this. However, I need a diagnostic file which is a copy of your tax return that has all of your personal information removed. You can send one to us by following the directions below:

TurboTax Online:

1. Sign into your online account.
2. Locate the Tax Tools on the left-hand side of the screen.
3. A drop-down will appear. Select Tools
4. On the pop-up screen, click on “Share my file with agent.”
5. This will generate a message that a diagnostic file gets sanitized and transmitted to us.
6. Please provide the Token Number that was generated in the response.

TurboTax Desktop/Download Versions:

1. Open your return.
2. Click the Online tab in the black bar across the top of TurboTax and select “Send Tax File to Agent” *
3. This will generate a message that a diagnostic copy will be created.  Click on OK and the tax file will be sanitized and transmitted to us.
4. Please provide the Token Number (including the dash) that was generated in the response.

*(If using a MAC, go to the menu at the top of the screen, select Help, then, “Send Tax File to Agent”)

[Rowelax]

Fixed - I deleted and removed one of my dependents and it added it correctly