Once again like last year i can’t claim my daughter and get money for her like i did in 2016 when she was 3 months old

[xmasbaby0]

Did you enter any income you earned from working in 2017?

[SweetieJean]

Did she live with you in 2017?

[xmasbaby0]

Are you a dependent on anyone else's tax return?

[5lance]

Yes and yes and it says i am only getting 600$ back, should i go to a tax place to make sure i am doing everything correct? It’s only me her father is not around

[5lance]

No ma’am it’s just me n my daughter

[5lance]

This all makes no sense, i entered everything u mentioned n it’s only showing the now 470$ is my refund amount

[5lance]

I guess i will try somewhere else and see what i am doing wrong

[xmasbaby0]

Please bear in mind that there are forms that are not yet finalized.  You should wait until the CTC forms and EIC forms are finalized.  Your tax return will not be accepted by the IRS until January 20 at the earliest.  You should wait for the forms.

[5lance]

Ok thank u

[xmasbaby0]

Sorry I "typo'd" that date.  The iRS is not accepting returns until January 29.  Save & sign out of your tax return for now, and then check back after January 18, when some of the forms are supposed to be finalized.

[5lance]

Ok will check back

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

Why didn’t I get back more for my dependent? 

Your refund is not broken down by how much you "get" for each dependent.  Each dependent gives you a personal exemption of $4050, which lowers the amount of your income that  you are taxed on.  It is not a refund.

There are several child-related credits you *may* get if you have a dependent child.

You might be getting the Child Tax Credit--that is not a refund--it lowers the tax you owe, up to $1000 per child, but if you do not owe tax then you may not get the full amount of CTC.  In some cases, you could qualify for the "Additional Child Tax Credit" which is a refundable credit, and would increase your refund.  If you qualify for this credit, TurboTax calculates and automatically adds it to your refund.

You might be able to claim the child and dependent care credit if you paid someone to take care of your child so you could work. This is not a refundable credit, so it will not be in your refund.  It can lower your taxable income.

You might qualify for Earned Income Credit, which is a refundable credit if you worked and earned income. The EIC is based on the amount you earned.  If you do qualify for EIC, TurboTax automatically calculates the amount and adds it to your refund.

Look at your tax return to see the child-related /dependent credits you received:

Child Tax Credit 1040A  line 35 1040 line 49

Additional Child Tax Credit   1040A  line 43 1040 line 67

Child & Dependent Care Credit  1040A line 31 1040 line 49

Earned Income Credit 1040A line 42a           1040 line 66a

The children you listed as your dependents will appear on line 6c