child tax credit

[bheizer]

On the due diligence worksheet for claiming child tax credit, one of the questions asks, "Can the child be the qualifying child of any other person for 2020?"  I have to answer yes and when I do it says stop the taxpayer cannot use that child to claim the child tax credit.

My situation......both parents live together but the father provides more then half the support of keeping up the home so mother techincally can't claim HOH but if both parents agree can she claim the kids for the Child Tax Credit even I I answer no on the worksheet?

[TaxGuyBill]

That worksheet has A LOT of errors in it.  So if something doesn't make sense, answer it truthfully and make a note of the details.

As a side note, I just want to double check you are aware of the rules ... if the mother claims the child, the father won't be able to claim Head of Household (unless there is another qualifying dependent being claimed on the father's return).  So be sure to run it both ways to see the best results.

[qbteachmt]

Interactive wizards portal for determining dependency, filing status, credits, etc:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita

Go through these to see what qualifies.

[PATAX]

It is just my opinion, but this matter sounds like a big mess... Is it wise preparing this return(s) and subjecting yourself to potential large due diligence penalties?.. . Just my opinion....

[BobKamman]

Reminds me of the doctor who refused to treat cancer patients because it just sounded like a big mess and subjecting herself to to potential malpractice claims.  

[qbteachmt]

It seems pretty straight forward. You do what the IRS states based on how the situation meets the requirements.

Because the IRS doesn't have this: "but if both parents agree can she claim the kids for the Child Tax Credit"

The CTC is something you need to qualify for. It's not a Gift. It's a provision.

"I have to answer yes and when I do it says stop the taxpayer cannot use that child to claim the child tax credit."

Well, that's why you work through the details.

[PATAX]

Doctors who are very busy refer people to other doctors all the time...

[BobKamman]

The tiebreaker rule between parents applies only if they don't agree.  So the answer to ""Can the child be the qualifying child of any other person for 2020?" is No -- because that other person has agreed that the child cannot be.  If you want to be extra careful, I suppose you could get a signed statement from the parent that "I agree that Tommy is not my qualifying child this year."

That is a worthless worksheet.  Who came up with it, anyway?  Someone who learned programming from a correspondence school?