That page in TurboTax is poorly worded. It
didn't actually say you were getting a $4050 refund for each child. It just
said you were getting a $4050 "tax break". That is, you are only
getting a $4050 deduction from your income before tax is calculated (each
dependent gets a $4,050 personal "exemption").
In
particular, it did not say the $4050 was your Child Tax Credit or Earned Income
Credit. Your total exemption amount ($4050 each for you, your spouse and each
of your dependents) will be on line 26 of form 1040A or line 42 of form 1040.
The Child Tax credit is only a maximum of $1000 (many people get less) and will go to $2000 in 2018 (and be easier to Get).
Your income is probably too low. 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 $3000 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 43
of form 1040A instead of line 35 (lines 67 & 52 of form 1040). In the on-line version of TT, the main Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ can be seen
through Tools, View Tax Summary, Preview My 1040 or go to Print Center and then choose to Preview.
The ACTC is
calculated on form 8812; that form is not viewable in the online version of TT
until you have paid for your return. But, the ACTC is basically 15% of your
earned income over $3000.
