@Opus 17 , eh, maybe it's the wording, but "to get any credit at all" , you are not required to "owe at least some tax".
here are the rules:
the child tax credit (non-refundable) is the lower of $2,000 per child or the tax liability on line 18.
the additional child tax credit (refundable) is the LOWER of these three rules:
- $1,700 per child (2024)
- 15% of earned income over $2,500
- $2,000 per child less non-refundable credit
So someone with 3 children who earns $10,000 would have no tax liability, but would still be eligible for a refundable credit of 15% *($10,000 - $2500) or $1,125 as that is the lower of the 3 rules. Even though they owe no tax (line 18 = zero) , they would still receive a refund of $1,125 for CTC (and additional for EITC).
