a few things to check:
1) what kind of income do you have? is it from a W-2? is it social security benefits? it makes a difference.
2) have you keyed in the income? if you haven't yet taken that step, the tax credit will display as zero. Once the income is entered, it will correct itself.
The income has to be earned to qualify for the child tax credit. It can't be social security, pensions, dividends, interest, etc. It has to be from a W-2 or 1099-NEC form (in most cases).
assuming the $20,000 was EARNED, here is what I would expect:
1) the Child Tax Credit is $2,000 per child, but no greater than your tax liability. I'll assume you are filing HOH. Given $20,000 of income, the tax liability is $60, so the CTC is $60 That is reflected on Line 19.
Then there is the ADDITIONAL Child Tax Credit. This is more complicated, but is it the LESSER of these three rules and is reflected on Line 28:
1) $1500 per child so in your case, $3,000
2) 15% of the income that exceeds $2500 or $2,625
3) $2000 per child less the CTC or $3940.
so $2625 should be on line 28 if you are eligible.
