Dependent DECREASES refund?!

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 7, 2020
6 replies
36 views

For some reason, when I include my dependent, my refund decreases from 1499 to a little over 500. Does this make sense to anyone?

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KathrynG3

Level 14

It is possible that some credits are interacting with each other. Often, there are different requirements for different credits. Also, credits have a portion that can reduce your tax to $0, but that is all. The other portion of the credit you could get even if you owed $0 in tax. When credits "overlap," so to speak, it could possibly reduce your refund.

Here is an article about rules for claiming a dependent on your tax return.

xmasbaby0

Level 15

Are you sure the number that is going down is not under the words "Tax due?"

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

johnsnawderAuthor

Level 2

No, the number going down is refund.

nick-sgherzi

Level 2

@johnsnawder

Did you ever figure out what happened? I'm experiencing the same exact problem. Without adding any dependents and filing single, my tax refund is $2,751. When I add my child dependent, it drops all the way down $812. That makes no sense, why would it drop? If anything, it should go up. Does anybody have any idea what's going on? I've never had this problem before. If adding a dependent is going to DECREASE my refund, I'd be better off just leaving them off my tax return. Which to me seems counter intuitive.