Child dependent

[Lamar10]

The TurboTax software said my 19 son was a dependent, however, the IRS rejected my taxes. What is the issue?

[evelynm]

You can troubleshoot by finding your rejection code.  It's in the email you received, or you can view it in TurboTax after signing in and selecting Fix my return. Please check the rejected return code:

Rejected Return Codes 

The link above also has information on how to fix it.

Also, your “qualifying child” must be under age 19 or 24 if a full-time student for at least 5 months out of the year. To be considered a “qualifying relative”, his income must be less than $5,050 in 2024 ($4,700 in 2023).

[K M W]

A 19 year old child can qualify to be your dependent if they meet all the rules to be a dependent. It sounds like you entered all the data in to TurboTax, determined your child met the rules to be your dependent, filed your return and then your return was rejected by the IRS.

In order to fully answer your question, I would need to know the specifics of the reject; but without that, I can try to explain what probably happened.

The IRS electronic filing system will reject your return if it includes a dependent that either was already claimed as a dependent by another electronically filed return, or that the dependent filed a return and did NOT indicate on the return that they CAN be claimed as a dependent.  

So, in your situation, one of two things happened. Another person may have filed a tax return and listed your son as their dependent on their tax return - and if they filed first, your return would be subsequently rejected, as that social security number has already been used.  A reject does NOT mean your return is wrong and theirs is right, it just means the second return cannot be electronically filed. If this is the case, you would have to paper file your tax return. At some point of time down the line, the IRS will follow up via IRS notices with you and follow up with the other person to determine which return was correct and which one was not correct. 

The other situation that often occurs, and I am guessing this is the case for you as your child is 19 - is that your child may have filed their own tax return, but filed it INCORRECTLY.  When a person who is a dependent files their own tax return, there is a check box on the return that asks "CAN you be claimed as a dependent by someone else".  If you meet the rules to be considered a dependent of someone else, you are required to check that box. I suspect that your child may have filed their own tax return and did NOT indicated that on the return, meaning their return said they are NOT a dependent, so then your return cannot be electronically filed claiming them as a dependent.

If this is your situation - the resolution is that you will have to paper file your tax return - and your child should amend their tax return to show that they can be claimed as a dependent by someone else.

[DRich5]

While the reason for the rejection is not clear, there are a handful of instances when a 19 year old may not be considered a dependent.  

First, could somone else have claimed him as a dependent and filed before you filed??  We see this often when parents are divorced and one parent files first but both claim the child on the return. 

The other situation we see, if your 19 year old is working and filed a tax return on their own and filed before you, he could of selected that no one else was claiming him as a dependent.  

Here is a link that will take you to various rejection codes to see why your return was rejected.  What does my rejected return code mean and how do I fix it?