I havnt worked all year I just do a little door dash here an there but I have one dependent would I be able to get taxes back?

[xmasbaby0]

The refundable child-related credits are based on having income from working.   The amount of the child tax credit and earned income credit you are eligible to receive will be based on how much you earned.   You say you did "a little doordash"---but do not mention how much you earned.   Is someone else supporting you and your child?   Perhaps someone else can claim you and/or your child as dependents.

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 2023 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

[VolvoGirl]

And usually to get taxes back (a refund) you have to have taxes taken out of your pay.  But self employment like DoorDash doesn't withhold taxes.  And you need to pay about 15% self employment tax on it in addition to regular income tax on it.   

[xmasbaby0]

Yes...your doordash income is self-employment income, for which you have to pay self-employment tax for Social Security and Medicare.  And...you have to prepare a Schedule C for your expenses like gas, etc.

To avoid using the expensive online version of TurboTax to prepare a tax return for self-employment, use the free filing available on the IRS site:

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/