Troubleshooting Lacerte diagnostic ref. 45608 - Dependent excluded from child tax credit due to invalid SSN

When working on an Individual return, you may encounter the following diagnostics:

• Dependent #: Doesn't qualify for the Child Tax Credit and/or Additional Child Tax Credit because the child doesn't have a valid SSN. However, dependents with ITINs or ATINs qualify for the $500 credit for other dependents. (ref. #45608)
  • This diagnostic exists for tax year 2018 and later.
• Dependent #: Wasn't included in the Child Tax Credit and/or Additional Child Tax Credit computation because the child doesn't have a valid SSN, ITIN, or ATIN (ref. #45608)
  • This diagnostic exists for tax year 2015 through 2017.

This diagnostic is triggered when a qualifying dependent has been excluded from the Child Tax Credit calculation due to a missing or invalid SSN, or when a valid ITIN, or ATIN is present and they qualify for the $500 credit for other dependents instead.

What's new for tax year 2025:

• Requirements for claiming the CTC (child tax credit) or ACTC (additional child tax credit) have changed this year to require social security numbers:
  • Beginning in tax year 2025, you, or your spouse if filing jointly, must have a social security number to claim the CTC or ACTC on the original or amended return.
    • If you are filing a joint return, only one spouse is required to have an SSN issued by the due date of your return in order to be eligible for the CTC and ACTC. The other spouse may have an ITIN, but it must have been issued on or before the due date of the return.
  • The required SSN is one that is valid for employment and that is issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions).
  • If you have a qualifying child who does not have the required SSN, you can’t use the child to claim the CTC or ACTC on either your original or an amended 2025 return.
  • If your qualifying child doesn't have the required SSN, but has another type of taxpayer identification number, you may be able to claim the Other Dependent Credit for that child.
• The maximum amount of child tax credit for each qualifying child increased to $2,200.

Review the draft IRS instructions for Form 8812 for more information.

Follow these steps to clear the diagnostic if a valid SSN should be present:

1. Go to Screen 2, Dependent Information.
2. Enter a valid SSN, ATIN, or ITIN in the Social Security # field.
   • For tax year 2015-2017: If entering an ITIN, make sure to select the correct corresponding response in the field for Dependent with ITIN (for CTC).

If a valid ITIN or ATIN has been entered, this diagnostic is informational to make sure you've noticed the change in treatment. In this situation, the diagnostic won't clear and can be ignored.

Follow these steps to override Form 8812:

1. Go to Screen 38.2 Recovery Rebate, EIC, Residential Energy, Other Credits.
2. Select Child Tax Credits in the left navigation panel.
3. Enter the desired credit amount in Additional child tax credit (8812) [O] field.
   • This will override the form and will require Form 8812 to be prepared outside of Lacerte.  This return can't be e-filed when overridden.