Reject reason: F2441-022 - If filing status of the return is Married filing separately and Form 2441 is present in the return, then 'EligibilityRequirementMetInd'

dayna1127 · ‎June 7, 2019

Opus 17 · ‎June 11, 2019

FIRST:

When married filing separately, you are disqualified from the dependent care credit. You can still use a dependent care FSA, but the limit of eligible expenses is $2500, not $5000. Form 2441 is used to report the FSA, calculate the amount of eligible expenses, and in the case of the original poster @dayna1127, the other $2500 would be added back to their taxable income. However you must also have custody of the child more than half the nights of the year. Turbotax should not allow a form to be added to your return unless the credit is allowed, and the IRS should not be rejecting a return with a properly reported FSA. Either Turbotax is reporting something wrong, or the IRS is rejecting the returns incorrectly. I will flag this for investigation.

Second:

It is very important that, when parents live together (married filing separately, or unmarried) that the parent who will claim the child as a dependent ignore the custody agreement question ("do you have a custody agreement with the other parent?" Answer No.). This question only applies to legal agreements between parents who are divorced or separated. The other parent should not even list the child on their tax return. When both parents list the child, conflicts can arise because the Turbotax interview is somewhat clumsy when it comes to two parents living in the same home but not filing together. This may be the cause of xavier86's difficulty.

Also, xavier86, if you were answering questions about you paying the child's support, that means you are in the wrong part of the interview. The question should have been, "did the child pay more than half their own support." You may have claimed the child incorrectly and not gotten the appropriate child tax credit. Also, if you have a dependent care benefit in box 10 of your W-2 and didn't attach form 2441, you will get a letter and a bill for extra tax from the IRS. Please print your return and check for form 2441 (part 1 and 3 should be filled out but not part 2) and also check the amount of the child tax credit on form 1040 line 12a and schedule 3, if it is $500 per child and not $2000 per child, you made a mistake in how you identified your dependent.

*Answers are correct to the best of my ability at the time of posting but do not constitute legal or tax advice.*

View solution in original post

DoninGA · ‎June 7, 2019

If you filed the 2018 tax return as Married Filing Separately then you cannot claim any Child or Dependent Care Expenses or credit on your tax return.
Delete the Form 2441. See this TurboTax support FAQ for deleting the 2441 - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2580507-how-do-i-delete-form-2441-in-turbotax-online">https://ttlc...>

dayna1127 · ‎June 7, 2019

Right, I get that, but I have a Dependent care (DCA) through work and in box 10 of my W2 it has the 5k listed. I think that is what is triggering the form.... not sure what to do now. Don't think i can delete form 2441 if i have a DCSA.

jrnixonlaw · ‎June 7, 2019

I am having the EXACT same issue as dayna1127 - please help?

dayna1127 · ‎June 7, 2019

jrnixonlaw: i will try to refile it tomorrow and see what happens. It also said there is a processing error and to come back on or after jan 31 and resubmit... I really hope it works then, b/c I honestly have no other ideas!!!

jrnixonlaw · ‎June 7, 2019

dayna1127: Thanks - please advise if that works - I will keep you you appraised (here) as to how my progress goes.

mamavapor · ‎June 7, 2019

I have filed "Married, filing separately" since 2016. My child care expenses have always generated Form 2241 I do not get the credits but I have DC benefits taken out of my check so it's listed on my W-2. However, this is the first time it has ever caused my taxes to be rejected. Will also try to refile tomorrow evening.

xavier86 · ‎June 7, 2019

I'm in this same situation.

jrnixonlaw · ‎June 7, 2019

I refiled just a few min. ago - I will advise if it was accepted this time. Fingers crossed!

xavier86 · ‎June 7, 2019

I went back through the questions and made sure to mark down that I paid more than half the expenses and that the child lived with me more than half the year. Even though my wife and I live together, you have to answer them that way. Then, it will NOT attach Form 2441 to the final transmission and it should go through. Double check the PDF at the end that Form 2441 is not attached.

jrnixonlaw · ‎June 7, 2019

I was rejected again today for the same reason. SO FRUSTRATING! Can we get somebody from TURBOTAX to help out, since this seems to be troubling to many users?

jrnixonlaw · ‎June 7, 2019

XAVIER86: I think that when you have Dependent Care Benefits (think Childcare FSA...), you need to file form 2441 with your return. See: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2441.pdf">https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2441.pdf</a> ("In addition, if you (or your spouse if filing jointly) received any dependent care benefits for 2018, you must use Form 2441 to figure the amount, if any, of the benefits you can exclude from your income.") I know that once I entered $2,500 of Dependent Care Benefits from my W2 (BOX 10), I was taxed on that amount, but when I completed the 2441 process I was no longer taxed on that amount as income. SO, I am not keen on deleting the 2441 from my return, personally. Am I missing something?

Opus 17 · ‎June 7, 2019

The bottom line here is that form 2441 is ALWAYS required when you have a dependent care benefit in box 10, even if you aren't eligible to claim any expenses, because it is used to reconcile the benefit. I don't know if Turbotax reported it wrong or the IRS is rejecting the return incorrectly, I have flagged this for investigation.

*Answers are correct to the best of my ability at the time of posting but do not constitute legal or tax advice.*

xavier86 · ‎June 11, 2019

The IRS accepted my federal return and TT never included Form 2441. Box 10 of my W2 has a benefit of $2500 which is the maximum allowed for MFS. I didn't claim the dependent care credit. The taxes I owe are 100% correct.

Opus 17 · ‎June 11, 2019

That's odd. A return with money in box 10 and no form 2441 should not pass the error check in Turbotax and should not be accepted by the IRS.  Do you have a number on line 21 of schedule 1 marked "DCB"?

If you are willing, use "send file to agent" it will create an anonymous version of your return and upload it to the tech support database.  Post the token number here, it may help review the situation.

TurboTaxOnline
1. Sign into your online account.
2. Locate the Tax Tools on the left hand side of the screen.
3. A Drop down will appear. Click on Share my file with agent.
5. This will generate a message that a diagnostic copy will be created. Click on OK, the tax file gets sanitized and transmitted to us.
6. Please provide the Token Number that was generated onto a response to this thread.

TurboTaxDesktop

    1. Click into your return.
    2. Click Online and select "Send Tax File to Agent".
    3. This will generate a message that a diagnostic copy will be created. Click on OK, the tax file gets sanitized and transmitted to us.
Please provide the Token Number that was generated onto a response to this thread.

*Answers are correct to the best of my ability at the time of posting but do not constitute legal or tax advice.*

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Reject reason: F2441-022 - If filing status of the return is Married filing separately and Form 2441 is present in the return, then 'EligibilityRequirementMetInd'