Thank you @MonikaK1 for the detailed response—I appreciate the clarification!
I now understand that we cannot split the Child Tax Credit when filing Married Filing Separately. However, I wanted to ask about this part of your answer:
"By claiming the credit on a Separate return, you can only receive half the amount of the credit (up to $1,000) you would receive on a joint return."
I had thought that even under Married Filing Separately, one spouse could claim the full $2,000 credit (while the other spouse does not claim it at all). My spouse and I would agree that only one of us will claim the child as a dependent.
Can you clarify if this is incorrect? If one spouse claims the child as a dependent, does that spouse still receive the full $2,000 Child Tax Credit, or is it automatically reduced to $1,000 because we are filing separately?
For additional context, this is our first child, and we both live together.
Thanks again for your help!
