2021 Child Tax Credit Age Limit Change and Amending Return

[gldni007]

Hello, based on some information I came across on the IRS website and also on this TurboTax community site, it appears that there was an update to the age limit for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for tax year 2021. The age limit changed AFTER I had already filed my taxes. My daughter turned 17 in 2021 so she actually qualified for the CTC, however, TurboTax instead qualified her for the "Credit for Other Dependents" for $500. I believe this to be incorrect, TurboTax should have qualified her for the CTC $3000.

This post here has information on this change:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-credits-deductions/discussion/2021-advctc-and-ctc-in-general/0...

A1. For tax year 2021, the Child Tax Credit increased from $2,000 per qualifying child to:

• $3,600 for children ages 5 and under at the end of 2021; and
• $3,000 for children ages 6 through 17 at the end of 2021.

I am now trying to do an amended return to fix this but TurboTax is still not correctly qualifying my daughter for the $3000 CTC. Can anyone point me in the right direction to address this problem?

Thanks.

[xmasbaby0]

The child tax credit amount did not change after people began to file 2021 tax returns in 2022.    The law that changed the amount of the child tax credit actually went into effect well ahead of the time people began to file 2021 returns.   Many folks received "advance" child tax credit payments from July 2021 to December 2021, and then reconciled the amount of the advance payments against the balance they could still get on line 28 of their Form 1040's.

So.....if your child who was only 17 at the end 2021 did not get the CTC then it was for some other reason.  Did you enter the child's Social Security number in My Info?   When you were asked if the SSN was valid for employment did you say YES ?   Did you say your child lived in the U.S. for at least six months in 2021?

[gldni007]

When I walk through the CTC section in Turbo Tax for doing an amended return, it does not ask any of those questions you mention. The only questions are the following:

• Did you receive any advance Child Tax Credit payments? - Answered NO
• Was your main home located in the US for 6 or more months during 2021? - Answered YES
• Let's check for uncommon situations - Of which I selected None apply.

If those questions were mentioned when I originally filed, I can't imagine not answering them correctly. Is there anyway for me to know?

The one thing I do know is that the section for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) "Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents" lists "0" (zero) on line 4a

• "Number of qualifying children under age 18 with required ss#"

And zero for line 4b

• "Number of children included on line 4a who were under age 6 at end of 2021"

This is incorrect, line 4a should have been "1". However, TurboTax fills this in behind the scenes so there's no way for me to know why it did that. At least, best I can tell.

[xmasbaby0]

Take another look at the date of birth you entered in My Info and make sure you entered it correctly.  The child had to be UNDER the age of 18 at the end of 2021 to get the CTC.   

And....was this YOUR child?   Not the child of a girlfriend or boyfriend who lived with you?

[xmasbaby0]

Q B3. Who is a “qualifying child” for purposes of the 2021 Child Tax Credit? (updated March 8, 2022)

A3. For tax year 2021, a qualifying child is an individual who does not turn 18 before January 1, 2022, and who satisfies the following conditions:

1. The individual is the taxpayer’s son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, a grandchild, niece, or nephew).
2. The individual does not provide more than one-half of his or her own support during 2021.
3. The individual lives with the taxpayer for more than one-half of tax year 2021. For exceptions to this requirement, see IRS Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents.
4. The individual is properly claimed as the taxpayer’s dependent. For more information about how to properly claim an individual as a dependent, see IRS Publication 501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.PDF
5. The individual does not file a joint return with the individual’s spouse for tax year 2021 or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid.
6. The individual was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. For more information on this condition, see IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.PDF

Q B4. Do I, or my children, need to have Social Security numbers to qualify for the Child Tax Credit...

A4. You — and your spouse, if married filing a joint return — must have a Social Security number (SSN) or an IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You received advance Child Tax Credit payments only if you used your correct SSN or ITIN when you filed a 2020 tax return or 2019 tax return (including when you entered information into the Non-Filer tool on IRS.gov in 2020 or the Child Tax Credit Non-filer Sign-up Tool in 2021).

Advance Child Tax Credit payments were made for qualifying children who have an SSN that is valid for employment in the United States. 

Q B5. What is meant by a Social Security number that is valid for employment? (added June 14, 2021)

A5. For qualifying children, a valid SSN is one that is valid for employment in the United States and is issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) before the due date of your 2021 tax return (including extensions).

If an individual was a U.S. citizen when he or she received the SSN, then it is valid for employment in the United States. If “Not Valid for Employment” is printed on the individual’s Social Security card and the individual’s immigration status has changed so that he or she is now a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, ask the SSA for a new Social Security card.

However, if “Valid for Work Only With DHS Authorization” is printed on the individual’s Social Security card, the individual has the required SSN only as long as the Department of Homeland Security authorization is valid.

[gldni007]

I checked the date of birth and social security number. Everything there is correct. Yes, this is my biological child.

Best I can tell, TurboTax simply chooses the "Credit for Other Dependents" for $500. From checking on the IRS site where you can use a tool to confirm qualification for CTC, it clearly stated that my daughter qualifies for the CTC at $3000 and does NOT qualify for "Credit for Other Dependents".

[xmasbaby0]

Try going to My Info and delete the child.  Then re-enter the child with all of the child's information.  After you have done that, re-visit the questions for the CTC, and see if it gives you the credit.

[xmasbaby0]

And.....if it still does not give you the credit you will need to contact customer support during business hours.

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

Customer support is available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time daily Monday- Friday

[gldni007]

One other interesting piece of information. I walked through my taxes for 2021 using a different tax software. If I change the birth date to one year earlier, it does the same thing that TurboTax did and uses $500 "Credit for Other dependents". but if I use the correct birth date it qualifies my daughter for CTC $3000.

[gldni007]

Holy cow. Deleting my daughter and then re-entering her information fixed the problem. Wow, this appears to be a bug in the software.

Thank you so much for you assistance. Hopefully now I can file an amended return and get this fixed.

[DanP0428]

It is not a bug in the software.  It is a communication error.  When you entered your daughter the first time, something in your computer or network made a mistake on the data.  Even though the information that printed out looked perfect, there was an error in the how the system actually was reading the data.   The only way to fix that type of error is to delete the incorrect data and add it again.

This can happen with any computer and any software.  Once in a while there is a tiny hiccup in the processing.  It is only a microsecond of error in the multi billions of pieces of data that are constantly being transmitted, but the error is there until deleted.