Hal_Al
Level 15

Deductions & credits

Q. WHY DOES TURBOTAX SHOW $2K vs. THE $3K per child 6-17 yr and $3,600 per child under 6?

A. Because $2000 is the correct amount.

 

$2000 being the correct amount,  is technically $2000 is the maximum amount. It could be, and frequently is, less. 

 

The child tax credit  (CTC) is  limited to your tax liability. The CTC is a non-refundable credit and can only reduce your income tax to 0, It can not help you beyond eliminating your tax liability. But, if you have more than $2500 of earned income, some or all of it is usually given back to you thru the "Additional Child tax credit". That is, part of the CTC may be on line 28 of form 1040 (2021- 2023) instead of line 19. The  ACTC is calculated on form 8812 and  is basically 15% of your earned income over