Dependent or not

[pedroslash]

When I input data for my daughter who is 21, a full-time student, for whom we're paying more than 50% of her expenses, Turbo Tax says she qualifies as a dependent. But when I conclude the personal tab, TT says she's not a dependent this year. Which is it?

[xmasbaby0]

You are answering something incorrectly.   Make sure you said she lived with you---living away at school is a "temporary absence" so you can still say she lives with you.   Make sure you clicked that she is a full-time student.   Take a close look at the oddly worded question that asks if she paid for over half her own support---make sure your answer was NO.  You might need to delete her as a dependent and start over by re-entering her information and go very slowly through the screens in My Info.    You should get the $500 credit for other dependents for her (it will be on line 19) and if you did not already receive it for claiming her---the $1400 recovery rebate credit.   You are also the one who can get the education credit for tuition, etc.

[pedroslash]

I have reviewed and re-reviewed the information several times, but I was at the point of deleting and trying again. I'll try that. Thanks!

[xmasbaby0]

Make sure you did not accidentally click that she has a SSN card that says not valid for employment---that can mess you up too.

[Hal_Al]

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit. They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.

The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.

A child of a taxpayer can still be a “Qualifying Child” (QC) dependent, regardless of his/her income, if:

1. He is under age 19, or under 24 if a full time student for at least 5 months of the year, or is totally & permanently disabled
2. He did not provide more than 1/2 his own support. Scholarships are excluded from the support calculation
3. He lived with the parent (including temporary absences such as away at school) for more than half the year
   4. He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
   5. He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
   6. He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer

See full dependent rules at: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Family/Rules-for-Claiming-a-Dependent-on-Your-Tax-Ret...

[pedroslash]

I had to delete my daughter's profile and then re-enter her information. If I hadn't done that, the software would not have allowed me to claim her as a dependent, which would seem to be a glitch with the software. That's troubling.

On a related note, I noticed that my tax liability fell when I claimed my daughter as a dependent but that her liability rose if I claim her as a dependent. My follow-up question is whether I am required to claim her as a dependent or do I have the option NOT to claim her which will advantage her more than it disadvantages me. 

[JohnW152]

No, you’re not required to claim your child as a dependent. 

However, you should be aware that if you can claim your daughter according to the dependency rules, she’ll have to check the box next to "Someone else can claim me as a dependent on their tax return" when she files her own tax return.

See what’s going on there?  The IRS is concerned with whether someone can claim your child, not whether they actually do.

Please see the TurboTax Help article Who can I claim as my dependent? for more information.