Child Dependent Care Expenses in year child turns 13

[bryce]

Based on Pub 503, I have always taken the stance that child dependent care expenses can be taken all the way up until the child turns age 13.  Pub 503 states that a qualifying child is a "dependent and who was under age 13 when the care was provided".  So the child turns 13 in October of 2023. Care was provided in June 2023.  In this situation, I claim the dependent care expenses on the 2023 tax return. 

Currently the 2023 tax software gives you an error if the child turns 13 in the current year and states you can't claim it.

So I called and spent 60 minutes on the phone with a nice Proseries rep. He got a sanitized folder and said he'd send it on for review and that the form would need to get fixed. After the file was reviewed, he said that the software developer and Proseries have taken the stance that their error msg is correct and you can't claim the dependent care expense even if the child turns 13 AFTER the care was provided.

I call BS.

He said if enough people call in, they'll adjust it eventually.  

[IRonMaN]

Last year the software allowed the credit for kids that were too old.  So they fixed it.  The fix resulted in this issue.  I believe you can do an override and then turn off error checking when you convert for e-filing to get it to work.

[abctax55]

https://accountants.intuit.com/community/proseries-tax-discussions/discussion/dependent-care-exp-are...