Why doesn't turbo tax allow me to claim my dependent care credit? I think this is illegal

[mermaidlove24]

I paid over $5k to a daycare and turbo tax says I'm not allowed to get the refund amount of $660 or something similar unless I upgrade.  This sounds illegal

[xmasbaby0]

The Free Edition does not support the child and dependent care credit which goes on Schedule 3.   It is not illegal for TurboTax to limit what you can enter on its "free" software.

You can file with TurboTax Free Edition if you have a simple tax return.*

*A simple tax return is Form 1040 only.

Situations covered in TurboTax Free Edition include:

• W-2 income
• Limited interest and dividend income reported on a 1099-INT or 1099-DIV
• Claiming the standard deduction
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC)
• Child tax credits
• Student Loan Interest deduction

Situations not covered in TurboTax Free Edition include:

• Itemized deductions
• Unemployment income reported on a 1099-G
• Business or 1099-NEC income
• Stock sales
• Rental property income
• Credits, deductions and income reported on schedules 1-3

You will need to upgrade to Deluxe.

Or—-Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site

https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/

[Opus 17]

Turbotax is a commercial product.  You pay for new shoes, you pay for Netflix, and you pay for Turbotax.  Turbotax is "free to start" and some simple returns are free, but if your return does not qualify, then you either need to pay the fee or find another software provider to file your return.  (If Netflix is too expensive, you can switch to Paramount+, but you might get less content.)