WKBT
May 12, 2021 9:00 AM
MoneyTips
Posted:
Updated:
Did your kids get a taste of the real world and decide that living off Mom and Dad was not so bad after all? Cheer up… you may still be able to claim them as dependents on your taxes.
In the past, dependents could save money on your taxes in two ways: through individual exemptions and the potential eligibility for certain tax credits. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) removed the personal exemption from tax year 2018, but expanded the Child Tax Credit and kept the Dependent Care Credit in place, despite early talks of doing away with it. “The Dependent Care Credit can be very valuable. It was actually on the potential chopping block as far as the recent tax reform, but it survived,” reports Betterment Head of Tax Eric Bronnenkant. “Let’s say you have two kids, and let’s say your employer offers a dependent care account, you’re able to contribute up to $5,000 tax-free through your employer and get reimbursed for dependent care expenses tax-free. And then on top of that, you also get another $200 credit effectively for another $1,000 worth of expenses.”