Ways to Increase Your Tax Refund You Never Thought About (2024)

Key Takeaways

• Choosing the filing status that best matches your situation can lower your taxes and increase your refund.
• You can use a W-4 Withholding Calculator to help you estimate what you should enter on your W-4 and adjust the amount that you can expect as a refund when you prepare your taxes.
• Claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit if you are eligible can decrease the amount of taxes you owe and may get you a tax refund even if you don’t owe any tax.

You may have heard about a possible change to the Child Tax Credit, but don’t worry. TurboTax has you covered. We are up to date with the latest tax laws so you can file your taxes with confidence and accurately claim the Child Tax Credit, if you are eligible. There is no need to delay. File now to get your max refund as soon as possible.

If lawmakers expand the Child Tax Credit, the IRS has stated that they will automatically adjust your return and notify you of the update, including any additional refund. No extra steps are required on your part.

Choosing the filing status that best suits your needs can influence the possibility of a refund. Your filing status determines:

• Your standard deduction
• Your filing requirements
• The credits you are eligible to receive
• The amount of tax you pay or the refund you receive

There are five statuses to choose from, but the most common are:

• married filing jointly or separately
• single
• head of household

TurboTax can help you determine which choice most benefits your situation.

TurboTax Tip:

Unlike in other years, you can still get a refund with the Child and Dependent Care Credit even if you don’t owe taxes.

Claim the Earned Income Tax Credit

Working families, individuals, people who are self-employed and others who have moderate to low income may qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The EITC decreases the amount of taxes owed and may qualify you for a tax refund. To qualify, you are required to:

• Have a valid Social Security number
• Be a U.S. citizen, a year-long resident alien or a non-resident alien married to an American citizen or resident alien filing jointly
• Have income from self-employment, from an employer or from working on a farm
• Not be claimed as a dependent or child of another person
• Be between the ages of 25 and 65, living in the U.S. for at least half the year

To receive the EITC you have to file a tax return, even if you owe no taxes.

Claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit

TheChild and Dependent Care Creditis based on a percentage of the amount you paid for the care of aqualifying child or dependent.

For tax year 2023, the total expenses you can claim are capped at $3,000 for one eligibleindividual and $6,000 for two or more. If your employer offers dependent care benefits, you arerequired to deduct this amount.

• Your child who is under 13 years of age
• A dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care and who lives with you formore than half the year, or
• Your spouse who is incapable of self-care and lives with you for more than half the year

To claim the credit, other criteria have to be met.

• • You cannot file as married filing separately.
  • You can’t use a caregiver who is a spouse or parent of the child, your child under 19 years of ageor another of your dependents.
  • Each qualifying dependent has to have a Social Security number.
  • You have to provide the name, address and Social Security number of your caregiver.

For 2021, theAmerican Rescue Planbrings significant changes to the amount and way that the Child and Dependent Care Credit can be claimed. The plan increases the amount of expense eligible for the credit, relaxes the credit reduction due to income levels, and also makes it fully refundable. This means that, unlike in other years, you can still get the credit even if you don’t owe taxes.

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