Our program automatically calculates the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit based on the dependents and income entered into your account. When you are done with your return, you can view your Child Tax Credit amount by navigating to the Summary/Print page and selecting Tax and Credits.
Who can be considered a Qualifying Child?
A qualifying child for this credit is someone who:
- Is claimed as your dependent,
- Child must have a SSN (ITIN not allowed for Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit)
- Was under age 17 at the end of the tax year
- Child did not provide more than half of his or her own support for the year
- Child lived with you for more than half of the year
- Child did not file a joint tax return for the year (or files only to claim a refund of taxes withheld or estimated tax paid)
- Is your son, daughter, adopted child, grandchild, stepchild or eligible foster child, your sibling, step-sibling or their descendant, and
- Is a U.S. citizen or resident alien.
Provided below is a comparison for tax years 2021 through 2024.
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Child Tax Credit
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Tax Year 2024
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Tax Year 2022 & 2023 |
Tax Year 2021 only |
| How much is the credit? |
- $2,000 for each qualifying child under age 17.
- Partially refundable- the most that can be refunded to you is $1,700 per qualifying child.
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- $2,000 for each qualifying child under age 17.
- Partially refundable- the most that can be refunded to you is $1,500 per qualifying child.
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- $3,000 for children age 6-17 (up to $250 per month)
- $3,600 for children under age 6 (up to $300 per month)
- Fully refundable
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| Income thresholds |
- Married Filing Jointly $400,000
- Married Filing Separately $200,000
- All others $200,000
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- Married Filing Jointly $400,000
- Married Filing Separately $200,000
- All others $200,000
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- 150,000 or less for married couples filing a joint return and qualified widows and widowers
- $112,500 or less for heads of household, and
- $75,000 or less for singles
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| Limitations? |
- You must have at least $2,500 in earned income on your return to claim the credit
- Limited to tax liability (May qualify for Additional Child Tax Credit) and/or Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) See example below*
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- You must have at least $2,500 in earned income on your return to claim the credit
- Limited to tax liability (May qualify for Additional Child Tax Credit) and/or Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) See example below*
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- No earned income requirement
- Taxpayers making over the income threshold may still qualify for a reduced Child Tax Credit. For every additional $1,000 in modified Adjusted Gross income (AGI) over the limit, the credit will be reduced by $50.
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| How do I claim the credit? |
Automatically calculated and included on tax return. |
Automatically calculated and included on tax return. |
- Advance Child tax Credit payments issued on July 15, August 13, September 15, October 15, November 15 and December 15.
- The remaining amount to be claimed on the 2021 tax return.
- May opt out of advance payments once the IRS has portal available. (Claim full amount on tax return instead.)
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For more information covered in IRS Instructions for Schedule 8812, click here.