Sorry----you cannot get the credit until you have entered income earned from working. It is a credit for people who paid someone to watch their child while they worked so you have to show you worked and made money working. And....please do not be in a rush to e-file the minute you get your W-2.
I worry when people ask how soon they can file and want to file the minute they can, because experience here has shown that many of those same people will be back in this forum in a few weeks asking how to amend. Right now it has been taking the IRS more than six months to process amended returns. Filing too soon could mean you are setting yourself up for months of aggravation.
You can fall for the marketing ploy that will allow you to e-file early if you want to—-but be aware that your e-file will just sit on a server and if you discover that you need to make any changes you will not be able to. You cannot change or add anything while your return is in pending on the server. You have to wait until the IRS ether accepts or rejects it after January 24. If it is rejected you can fix it; if it is accepted with your mistakes you have to wait for it to be processed and go through the lengthy process of amending.
You still need your 2021 W-2's and any 1099's that will show your income for 2021. Those will not be issued until late January or early February.
The tax forms are not ready yet. The software still needs lots of updates. Go to the REVIEW tab to see which forms in your return are incomplete and the estimated dates they will be ready (dates always subject to change) and sign up for the email alerts if you wish.
.
Being in a hurry to file and get a refund is never a good idea---it leads to filing incorrectly without all of your information and to waiting months to amend mistakes that you should not have made in the first place. Be patient and file correctly when all of your information is in order and the tax forms are ready.
And based on the delays for 2020 refunds I for one do not even want to guess how long the IRS will take to process 2021 returns and send out refunds. Expect confusion regarding the child tax credit----wait for the letter 6419 they will send you in January that tells you how much of the advance CTC you got because you need to enter that. And if you got the 3rd EIP in 2021 there will be a letter for that too. Those amounts need to be entered carefully and correctly.
And…..if you are trying to rush because you get earned income credit or the child tax credit——the PATH act means you cannot get your refund until the end of February at the earliest—so filing early will not get you an early refund.
And….as of one day after people were allowed to start e-filing we were already seeing users post that they made mistakes and want to fix them——and they cannot fix their mistakes.
What is the problem you are having?
To enter dependent care expenses, in the Search box type "dependent care" (without the quotes), then click the link that says "Jump to dependent care."
You cannot get the childcare credit unless you have entered income earned from working. And on a joint tax return you need income from both spouses. If one of you was self-employed but showed a loss, you will not get the childcare credit.
I click it and it asks "Did you pay for child and dependent care in 2021?" and I enter yes, then yes we live in the US, then it says "both spouses must have earned income or be FT student or disabled" and I say we are not disabled or students and then it ends with no more ability to input more info
This may be the issue, I have not entered our W2 info yet (although we did both earn income this year). Thanks!
And again..... have you entered income earned from working yet? Did you enter a W-2 or any self-employment income yet?
I wish it would just let me document the child care stuff since I have it ready now instead of blocking it. They could always disregard it if I end up not being qualified to receive that credit. I just want to be ready to hit submit as soon as we receive our W2's but I guess that part will have to wait...
Sorry----you cannot get the credit until you have entered income earned from working. It is a credit for people who paid someone to watch their child while they worked so you have to show you worked and made money working. And....please do not be in a rush to e-file the minute you get your W-2.
I worry when people ask how soon they can file and want to file the minute they can, because experience here has shown that many of those same people will be back in this forum in a few weeks asking how to amend. Right now it has been taking the IRS more than six months to process amended returns. Filing too soon could mean you are setting yourself up for months of aggravation.
You can fall for the marketing ploy that will allow you to e-file early if you want to—-but be aware that your e-file will just sit on a server and if you discover that you need to make any changes you will not be able to. You cannot change or add anything while your return is in pending on the server. You have to wait until the IRS ether accepts or rejects it after January 24. If it is rejected you can fix it; if it is accepted with your mistakes you have to wait for it to be processed and go through the lengthy process of amending.
You still need your 2021 W-2's and any 1099's that will show your income for 2021. Those will not be issued until late January or early February.
The tax forms are not ready yet. The software still needs lots of updates. Go to the REVIEW tab to see which forms in your return are incomplete and the estimated dates they will be ready (dates always subject to change) and sign up for the email alerts if you wish.
.
Being in a hurry to file and get a refund is never a good idea---it leads to filing incorrectly without all of your information and to waiting months to amend mistakes that you should not have made in the first place. Be patient and file correctly when all of your information is in order and the tax forms are ready.
And based on the delays for 2020 refunds I for one do not even want to guess how long the IRS will take to process 2021 returns and send out refunds. Expect confusion regarding the child tax credit----wait for the letter 6419 they will send you in January that tells you how much of the advance CTC you got because you need to enter that. And if you got the 3rd EIP in 2021 there will be a letter for that too. Those amounts need to be entered carefully and correctly.
And…..if you are trying to rush because you get earned income credit or the child tax credit——the PATH act means you cannot get your refund until the end of February at the earliest—so filing early will not get you an early refund.
And….as of one day after people were allowed to start e-filing we were already seeing users post that they made mistakes and want to fix them——and they cannot fix their mistakes.
Thanks for all the info! I am just a busy working mom and try to take advantage of the time to get things organized and ready in advance as whenever I can. I will be sure to wait for the child tax credit letter - I was not aware that was coming. I appreciate all of your effort in your response!!