Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit Q&As

If you have one or more children under age 17 living with you during the calendar year, you may qualify for the Child Tax Credit.

You may also be able to take the Additional Child Tax Credit if you meet the qualifications.

What is the Child Tax Credit?

The Child Tax Credit is a nonrefundable tax credit for each qualifying child you claim on your return, worth up to $1,000 per qualifying child. The credit is limited to the amount of tax on your return. You cannot receive any excess credit as a refund.

What is the Additional Child Tax Credit?

If you cannot take the full Child Tax Credit because you owe less income tax than the amount of the credit, you may be able to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit.

This credit is refundable, which means you can take this credit even if you owe little or no income tax. To qualify for this credit, you must have more than $3,000 in earned income.

The Additional Child Tax Credit is based in part on the Child Tax Credit. If you do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit, you cannot take the Additional Child Tax Credit.

What are the qualifications for each child?

A person must meet both of these tests to qualify as your child for the Child Tax Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit:

The child must be under age 17 at the end of the calendar year, and
You must claim the child as a dependent on your return.

You can use TaxAct's Dependent Quiz to help you determine if someone qualifies as your dependent.

Is this credit limited at higher income levels?

Your credit begins to phase out when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $75,000 ($110,000 if filing jointly, or $55,000 if you are married and filing separately).

The credit phases out by $50 for each $1,000 or part of $1,000 that your modified adjusted gross income exceeds these amounts.

Your modified adjusted gross income for this purpose is your adjusted gross income on Form 1040, plus certain foreign income.

What information do I need to claim this credit on my tax return?

When you enter your dependent children and other information in TaxAct, the program calculates any Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit for which you are eligible.

What tax form do I use to claim this credit?

TaxAct calculates the Child Tax Credit on the Child Tax Credit Worksheet. TaxAct calculates the Additional Child Tax Credit on Schedule 8812.