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I don't believe I was supposed to get the child tax credit. But it was added automatically and I couldn't take it off. How come I got it? Will I be audited?

 
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3 Replies
ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

I don't believe I was supposed to get the child tax credit. But it was added automatically and I couldn't take it off. How come I got it? Will I be audited?

Why do you believe you were not entitled? Did your child reach age 17? 

 

Qualifying Child for the CTC

A child qualifies you for the CTC if the child meets all of the following conditions.

  1. The child is your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew).
  2. The child was under age 17 at the end of 2020.
  3. The child did not provide over half of his or her own support for 2020.
  4. The child lived with you for more than half of 2020 (see Exceptions to time lived with you , later).
  5. The child is claimed as a dependent on your return. See Pub. 501 for more information about claiming someone as a dependent.
  6. The child does not file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid).
  7. The child was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. For more information, see Pub. 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child , later.

Example.

 

Your son turned 17 on December 30, 2020. He is a citizen of the United States and you claimed him as a dependent on your return. You cannot use him to claim the CTC because he was not under age 17 at the end of 2020.

I don't believe I was supposed to get the child tax credit. But it was added automatically and I couldn't take it off. How come I got it? Will I be audited?

The reason I do not believe I was entitled was because the child did not live with me more than half the year. There is an agreement in the divorce decree that in even years I claim dependent and odd years, the child's mother claims dependent. 

ColeenD3
Expert Alumni

I don't believe I was supposed to get the child tax credit. But it was added automatically and I couldn't take it off. How come I got it? Will I be audited?

Go back into the personal info section and make sure that you said how many months the child actually lived with you. You can also delete the 2441.

 

Here's the general procedure for viewing the forms list and deleting unwanted forms, schedules, and worksheets in TurboTax Online:

  1. Open or continue your return in TurboTax.
  2. In the left menu, select Tax Tools and then Tools.
  3. In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose Delete a form.
  4. Select Delete next to the form/schedule/worksheet in the list and follow the instructions.

 

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