Our program automatically calculates the Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit based on the dependents and income entered into your account.
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.
|
Child Tax Credit
|
Tax Year 2024
|
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.
|
- $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.
|
- $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
|
| Income thresholds |
- Married Filing Jointly $400,000
- Married Filing Separately $200,000
- All others $200,000
|
- Married Filing Jointly $400,000
- Married Filing Separately $200,000
- All others $200,000
|
- 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
|
| 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*
|
- 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*
|
- 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.
|
| 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.)
|
For more information covered in IRS Instructions for Schedule 8812, click here.