For the child tax credit, you may first want to check the dependent information that flows to Form 1040 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return to see how the information regarding the child is being reported. It is important that the child's data (such as social security number, year of birth, relationship, number of months lived with you, etc.) is entered correctly for the child tax credit to calculate.

To review or change the dependent information:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then click Federal.
2. Click Basic Information in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu to expand, then click Dependents and other qualifying persons.
3. Click + Add a Dependent to add a new dependent, click Edit to review current dependent information, or click the trash icon to delete a dependent.
4. Continue with the interview process to enter or review all of the appropriate information.

Your credit amounts are automatically calculated based on the dependent and income information you have entered.

To review your calculated child tax credit:

1. From within your TaxAct return (Online or Desktop), click Federal. On smaller devices, click in the upper left-hand corner, then click Federal.
2. Click Other Credits in the Federal Quick Q&A Topics menu to expand, then click Child tax credit.
3. Continue with the interview process to enter all of the appropriate information.

For additional information regarding the Child Tax Credit, please refer to IRS Instructions for Form 1040 and 1040-SR or IRS Publication 972 Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents.

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.