Below are the criteria for the child tax credit. If he qualifies as your dependent, but not the child tax credit it is most likely due to his age. He must be under age 17 even if disabled. The other qualifier is he must have lived with you for more than 1/2 the year. Be sure to check your dependent answers in the "My info" section against this criteria.
- Taxpayers who are eligible to claim this credit must list the name and Social Security number for each dependent on their tax return.
- The child must be younger than 17 on the last day of the tax year, generally Dec 31.
- The child must be the taxpayer’s son, daughter, stepchild, foster or adopted child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother or half-sister. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with them for legal adoption. They can also include grandchildren, nieces or nephews.
- The child must have not provided more than half of their own support for the year.
- The taxpayer must claim the child as their dependent on their federal tax return.
- The child cannot file a tax return for the same year with the status married filing jointly, unless the only reason they are filing is to claim a refund.
- The child must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national or a U.S. resident alien.
- In most cases, the child must have lived with the taxpayer for more than half of 2020.
- In some cases, a taxpayer qualifies and gets less than the full credit. These taxpayers must have earned income of at least $2,500 to receive a refund, even if they owe no tax, with the additional child tax credit.
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