Qualifying Dependent Child - Income

[gwgaston]

Ok so last year when using TT to file, my son was a qualified dependent child. This year TT says he is not.

He is still living at home, still in school full time, still under 24, etc. but this year they are asking if his income is less than $5050. That is a question that in the past was only asked for a qualifying relative, not child.

Here is the screen in TurboTax (see bottom question):

Definitely an error with the TurboTax form. It should not be asking this "Was ThisChild's gross income $5,050.00 or more in 2024?" question when determining a "Qualifying Child".

See the IRS info:
https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit

Use the Interactive Tax Assistant to see if you’re eligible to claim the CTC, ACTC or ODC:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-f...

I just went through it and no question was about exact income (nothing about $5050), and I got what I expected (my Child can be claimed as a ODC):

ThisChild is not a qualifying child for the Child Tax Credit.

ThisChild did not meet the age requirement. To qualify, ThisChild had to have been under age 17 at the end of 2024.

ThisChild qualifies for the Credit for Other Dependents.

So yes, I can get a $500 deduction. Now I have to:

1. Get TurboTax to fix this. -OR-

2. Just lie on the TT form as the actual tax form should come out right. -OR-

3. Decide that a $500 deduction will not help me that much, and for student grant considerations perhaps it is best to let him file and state that no one can claim him as a dependent.
   
   

It's from 2021 filing doc (likely an updated version exists), but it shows you that the income question we are seeing now in TT is for a "Qualifying Relative":

Publication 4012 (Rev. 10/2021)

For "Qualify Child" only these questions are asked by the IRS:

overview_of_the_rules_for_claiming_4012.pdf

[xmasbaby0]

Take a closer look at the question that asked if the CHILD paid for over half of his own support.   Your answer needs to be NO.   

[gwgaston]

Nice try but no that is not asked BEFORE the income question, only after (and in 2 places if you say No to the $5050 question). It is asked after you say NO to the $5050 question, that again should not be there.

The first screen of questions after you confirm the relationship is "My child" and provide all the child's info:

ThisChild is my:
Son
Daughter

Did ThisChild live with you for the whole year?
Yes
no

Was all that time in the U.S.?
Yes
No

Who are ThisChild's legal parents?
Me and Her
Me
Her

And tada! Next question is:

Was ThisChild's gross income $5,050.00 or more in 2024?
Yes
No

IF I select No here, THEN the question appears:

Did you or Her pay for more than half of ThisChild's living expenses in 2024?
Yes
No

And If I say Yes there and continue, it then lists the "Less common situations for ThisChild" and I check the box for "Was a full-time student in 2024". The last question there is "Paid for more than half of their living expenses and other support" and I do NOT check that. Click continue and I'm told "Not a dependent this year"

Wrong in TurboTax. I'm waiting until EOM to actually start on the taxes and will see if they fix this, but I do not have a good feeling about TurboTax and their lack of support on bugs/mistakes in their application. 

[xmasbaby0]

@gwgaston Sometimes it helps if you just completely delete the dependent and start over by entering them again in MY INFO and going through the screens again.   Try that and see if it helps.

[gwgaston]

Did that. Same deal. Had to as once I lied on the $5050 question, and went through it to see the next question, it did not appear when I tried to edit him again (should not have saved that in hindsight). So then I changed my older son's BD that was expected to not be a dependent due to age. I changed his age and saw the question again. I have since removed him and my younger child and the question returns for the younger child when I added him back.

[VolvoGirl]

It sounds to me like you entered the birthdate wrong if you got the income  > $5,050 question.  Do you get a question asking if  he was a full time student?  And going though my desktop program I see the "....pay more than half of his living expenses"   2 different ways in different places depending on their age.   What is their date of birth?  

One place says....

Did YOU pay for more than half of his living expenses.

The other place says Did William pay  for more than half of his living expenses

[xmasbaby0]

If there was a big glitch in the software for this, we would be getting a whole lot of questions from lots of users---and we are not---so something about the way you are interpreting/answering the questions is a problem.   Check the dates of birth you are using, and ----look AGAIN--- at the question that asked if the kid paid for over half their own support.  You have to say NO.   If your child is a student under the age of 24 you should be getting the $500 credit for other dependents, and you should be able to get education credits.  You lost the child tax credit when they turned 17.   And...if they lived away at school, that is a "temporary absence" so you say they lived with you for the whole year.

[VolvoGirl]

@xmasbaby0   I went though the dependent questions several ways and made a chart.  It does ask the pay more expenses 2 ways.   Update...William Birthdate should be 2014 (not 2004)

[gwgaston]

These are very straightforward questions. Birthday is in Feb of 2001 for this son which means he is 23 until Feb of this year. But even if I change this to 2000 to see if its a age bug, I get the same question about income. These question are on the screenshot I posted. They come all in one line. Again, let me put this another way: THIS QUESTION SHOULD NOT BE ASKED OF A "QUALIFYING CHILD". 

From the IRS:

No worries. I'll switch to another tax software as no one is going to step through this "USING THE ONLINE VERSION" and look apparently.

[xmasbaby0]

@VolvoGirl @gwgaston I have posted to the Mods about this and have requested that someone take a closer look.

[VolvoGirl]

Not to doubt you but is your screen from Turbo Tax?  It doesn't look like TT.  Was that black box about Qualifying Child Test on the same screen?  

[gwgaston]

VolvoGirl

 xmasbaby0
Try this IRS link. Does it ever ask you a dollar amount???

Use the Interactive Tax Assistant to see if you’re eligible to claim the CTC, ACTC or ODC:

[xmasbaby0]

May we ask-----what credit are you NOT getting because of this?       Is it giving you the $500 credit for other dependents?    Is it giving you education credit for a full-time student?    I have already posted a request to the moderators to have this looked at.

[gwgaston]

@VolvoGirl  - Not to doubt you but is your screen from Turbo Tax? 

I'm out. You folks can't be for real.

[xmasbaby0]

That was a question I was about to ask too---since that little black "box" shown above has the words H & R Block on it.