Turbotax keeps dropping my dependent

[gnieche]

When I fill in information for my 16 y.o. son it says he qualifies as a dependent. And then he doesn't show up on my tax return, at the end it says he doesn't qualify. I'm suspicious my ex claimed him. Would turbo tax drop him from my return and not tell me why, or is it a glitch in the program? Clearly I will reach out to me ex about this, I just want to have all my bases covered first. Thank you.

[xmasbaby0]

Not sure what you mean by "dropping" your son as a dependent.  If you entered your son as a dependent in MY INFO and did so correctly, then you should see your son listed on your Form 1040 on the top half of the first page of the tax form.  There will be a box checked by his name if he qualifies for the child tax credit or the credit for other dependents.  You cannot get the CTC for a child who was older than 16 at the end of 2023.  But you can get the $500 credit for other dependents.

If you and another parent/person both claim your son and the other person filed first, your e-file would be rejected for duplicate use of your son's SSN.  That would not cause your son's name to drop off of your actual return form.  So something else is wrong----you might be answering a question incorrectly.   Go back to MY INFO and make sure you have entered your son's date of birth, Social Security number etc. correctly.   When it asks if he provided half of his own support say NO---that question sometimes trips people up.   

[rjs]

TurboTax has no way of knowing if your ex claimed your son. That cannot be what is causing your problem. There is no need to contact your ex about it.

You wrote "at the end it says he doesn't qualify." Doesn't qualify for what? Does it say he doesn't qualify as a dependent, or does it say he doesn't qualify for something else? What is the exact message from TurboTax, word for word?

Look at your actual Form 1040, not a TurboTax screen. Is your son listed in the Dependents section in the middle of the first page of Form 1040? If his name is there, then he was not dropped from your tax return.

[xmasbaby0]

More information about the child related credits for earned income tax credits and additional child tax credit:

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2023 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2023?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2023 return are very different.  For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work.   That is NOT the way it will work for your 2023 tax return.  The “old” rules are back. 

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1600.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1600 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1600.

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2023, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6x...

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

And for the Earned Income Credit—-the rules are back to the “old” rules—

Those under 25 and over 65 without children are not eligible as they were uniquely in 2021.   And you cannot use your income from any earlier tax year to get the EIC for a 2022 return.  There is no “lookback” for 2023.  EIC for 2023 will be based on the income you earned by working in 2023.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899157-what-are-the-qualifications-for-the-earned-income-credit-e...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

Look at your 2023 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

[gnieche]

Context please, obviously this is about the dependent deduction. I spent an hour on the phone with customer service today. I deleted and reinstalled his information and this time it stuck.

[xmasbaby0]

Glad you were able to get it entered correctly.

There is not a "dependent deduction."   There are certain credits you can get if you claim a dependent.  If the dependent is a child under the age of 17, you might get the earned income credit, child tax credit, additional child tax credit,  or childcare credit (for a child younger than 13).  If your dependent is over the age of 16, you can get the $500 credit for other dependents and you might get earned income credit.

[gnieche]

Thank you, Im sure in some circumstances this attentikn to detail is very helpful.

[xmasbaby0]

@gnieche Yes---attention to detail is indeed a very important aspect of preparing a tax return.