TurboTax Question for claiming my daughter as a dependent

April 03, 2021, 03:37 PM

According to TT, I cannot claim my daughter as a dependent since she made more than $4300. In researching this, I thought I could still claim her as we provide over 50% of her living expenses - her housing at home, her car, her food, and so on. She also was a full time student during all of 2020. Is there a way in TT to allow me to claim her? Did I miss a question/answer which would allow this? Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

April 03, 2021, 03:43 PM

LS1 GTO

My step kids are older and TT asks if I/we provided more than 50%.

I suspect it would still come up as "not a dependant" due to age but never tried that route.

April 03, 2021, 05:08 PM

Flash-LB

According to Turbo Tax's blog, you're SOL.

https://blog.turbotax.intuit.c...7658/comment-page-1/

Who Can I Claim as a Tax Dependent?
FAMILY
November 25, 2020 /

The 4 Tests that Qualify a Relative as a Dependent
Not a Qualifying Child: They are not the “qualifying child” of another taxpayer or your “qualifying child.”
Gross Income: The dependent being claimed earns less than $4,300 in 2020 ($4,200 in 2019).
Total Support: You provide more than half of the total support for the year.
Member of Household or Relationship: The person (a friend, girlfriend, non-blood relative) must live with you all year as a member of your household or be related to you.

April 03, 2021, 05:40 PM

elmer

How old is the daughter? There appears to be different required for a dependent child vs dependent relative

April 03, 2021, 06:09 PM

trapper189

I believe the $4,300 is a test for claiming a relative other than your child. If true, you checked the wrong box or something somewhere. Have you tried asking Turbo Tax's support? Turbo Tax

April 03, 2021, 06:17 PM

nhracecraft

From the Turbo Tax blog posted by 'Flash-LB':

The 5 Tests that Qualify a Child as a Dependent

Relationship: Must be your child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (grand or nephew).
Residence: Must have the same residence for more than half the year.
Age: Must be under age 19 or under 24 and a full-time student for at least 5 months. They can be any age if they are totally and permanently disabled.
Support: Must not have provided more than half of their own support during the year.
Joint Support: The child cannot file a joint return for the year.

It seems to me that your daughter 'may' still quality as a dependent...I'd go back and run through the section re: dependents again

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April 04, 2021, 08:07 AM

Flash-LB

quote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
From the Turbo Tax blog posted by 'Flash-LB':

The 5 Tests that Qualify a Child as a Dependent

Relationship: Must be your child, adopted child, foster child, brother or sister, or a descendant of one of these (grand or nephew).
Residence: Must have the same residence for more than half the year.
Age: Must be under age 19 or under 24 and a full-time student for at least 5 months. They can be any age if they are totally and permanently disabled.
Support: Must not have provided more than half of their own support during the year.
Joint Support: The child cannot file a joint return for the year.

It seems to me that your daughter 'may' still quality as a dependent...I'd go back and run through the section re: dependents again

Nope. The OP said she made more than $4,300.00 so that kills it.

April 04, 2021, 10:55 AM

nhracecraft

^^^According to the 'Five Tests that Qualify a Child as a Dependent' listed in the Turbo Tax blog, the $4300 limit is NOT one of the defining criteria. If that limit is the deal breaker, then why is it not listed? Regardless, whenever there's a question, I always consult the applicable IRS Publication to confirm with greater certainty.

Checking IRS Publication 501 (TY.2020), page 11 reveals the identical five 'tests' to be a qualifying child as those listed in the Turbo Tax blog. So again, the OP's daughter 'may' qualify assuming she meets all of the criteria.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

I've been using Turbo Tax for nearly 20 years, and I've found that in certain tax situations, you need to determine why Turbo Tax is asking certain questions in order to get the correct result for your situation. Certain answers sometimes preclude other important/applicable questions and 'can' prevent getting the desired/allowable result. While Turbo Tax simplifies tax filing, it's definitely not perfect when it comes to the 'interview questions' used to determine how to fill out the form!

April 04, 2021, 11:07 AM

ZSMICHAEL

Turbo tax is NOT a subsitute for professional advice. Consulting IRS publications is often confusing as they seem to be written by individuals who majored in obfuscation.

April 04, 2021, 11:34 AM

bryan11

There have been several instances in past years where Turbotax's 'interview logic' wouldn't allow a valid selection according to the IRS publications. The best tax pro I've met said to review the IRS publications, choose the best option for you, and fill out the forms based on that. Keep notes about which IRS pubs you used for each option. They tax pro said if you're audited, those notes should cover you for how you filled out the forms.

April 04, 2021, 11:58 AM

Flash-LB

quote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
^^^According to the 'Five Tests that Qualify a Child as a Dependent' listed in the Turbo Tax blog, the $4300 limit is NOT one of the defining criteria. If that limit is the deal breaker, then why is it not listed? Regardless, whenever there's a question, I always consult the applicable IRS Publication to confirm with greater certainty.

Checking IRS Publication 501 (TY.2020), page 11 reveals the identical five 'tests' to be a qualifying child as those listed in the Turbo Tax blog. So again, the OP's daughter 'may' qualify assuming she meets all of the criteria.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p501.pdf

I've been using Turbo Tax for nearly 20 years, and I've found that in certain tax situations, you need to determine why Turbo Tax is asking certain questions in order to get the correct result for your situation. Certain answers sometimes preclude other important/applicable questions and 'can' prevent getting the desired/allowable result. While Turbo Tax simplifies tax filing, it's definitely not perfect when it comes to the 'interview questions' used to determine how to fill out the form!

Point taken. It was for a relative, not a child. Of course a child is a relative, but a different category.

April 04, 2021, 02:29 PM

Lefty Sig

The $4300 limit applies to other relatives, not to children. Probably an error in TT, but you might go to the forms mode and check things manually. I had to do that earlier this year because my ex and I claim our son in alternating years and 2020 was not my year, but I can still claim head of household and there was a bug in TT that did show the check box for "claiming per divorce agreement".

There is no longer a child dependent exemption, so all you can get is the child tax credit. From age 17 and up the credit drops to $500 but it is a refundable credit.

If you are not married then you may qualify to file as "head of household" due to the >50% support which in my case is worth a lot more than the credit.

April 05, 2021, 03:05 PM

randyman

My thanks to all who answered (and you thought I just came hear to learn more about Sigs!). Turns out that I cannot claim her because she turned 24 last year. I doubt that I can qualify for the tax credit because of our income level. Any more input would be greatly appreciated.