There is the CTC and the ACTC are 2 parts of the same credit ... if you have zero earned income then your credits would be zero.
Additional child tax credit
If you qualify for the CTC but can't take full advantage because you don't owe taxes or owe less than your credit amount, you may be able to get a partial refund by claiming the additional child tax credit.
To claim the ACTC, all of the above income and dependent criteria must be met, but there are also a few more rules:
You must either have an earned income of at least $2,500
[3]
or have three or more qualifying dependents
[4]
. Earned income typically means money from jobs or self-employment. It does not include money from passive sources such as dividends, pensions, welfare or unemployment
[5]
.
You or your partner (if married filing jointly) cannot exclude foreign-earned income from your taxes by filing Form 2555 or Form 2555-EZ
[6]
.
The IRS figures your additional child tax credit amount by multiplying your earned income above $2,500 by 15%. You can claim that number or however much of the CTC credit you were entitled to but couldn’t fully use, whichever number is less. But keep in mind that the maximum refund you can get for the 2023 tax year is capped at $1,600 per qualifying dependent.
If you have three or more dependent children, the math can be more complex. See Schedule 8812 for more details.
