Key Tax Change Affects Taxpayers with Dependents

WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service urges taxpayers who support dependents who can’t be claimed for the Child Tax Credit to do a paycheck checkup soon. The IRS Withholding Calculator can help these taxpayers make sure they have the right amount of tax taken out of their pay.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December 2017, added a new tax credit – Credit for Other Dependents. It is a non-refundable credit of up to $500 per qualifying person. Taxpayers may be able to claim the new credit for dependents that these taxpayers claimed a dependency exemption for in the past.

This change, along with others, can affect a family’s tax situation in 2018. Checking and adjusting withholding now can prevent an unexpected tax bill and even penalties next year at tax time.

The Credit for Other Dependents is available for dependents for whom taxpayers cannot claim the newly expanded Child Tax Credit. These dependents may include dependent children who are age 17 or older at the end of 2018, or parents or other qualifying relatives supported by the taxpayer. Families with qualifying children under the age of 17 should first review their eligibility for the expanded Child Tax Credit, which is larger.

The Credit for Other Dependents and the Child Tax Credit begin to phase out at $400,000 of modified adjusted gross income for joint filers and $200,000 for other taxpayers. For more information about these credits, visit Steps to Take Now to Get a Jump on Next Year’s Taxes on IRS.gov.

These credits are among many changes in the new law that will affect 2018 tax returns that people will file in 2019. The IRS Withholding Calculator, available on IRS.gov, can help people with dependents – and others – apply the new law correctly.

The IRS urges all taxpayers to complete their “paycheck checkup” as early as possible so that if a withholding amount adjustment is necessary, there’s more time for withholding to take place evenly throughout the year. Waiting means there are fewer pay periods to withhold the necessary federal tax – so more tax will have to be withheld from each remaining paycheck.

Taxpayers who change their withholding for 2018 should recheck their withholding at the start of 2019, especially taxpayers who reduce their withholding sometime during 2018. A mid-year withholding change in 2018 may have a different full-year impact in 2019. If taxpayers don’t submit a new Form W-4 for 2019, their withholding might be higher or lower than intended.

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