Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

zobuh2 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:36:31 GMT

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

Critter-3 — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 23:18:05 GMT

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2022 return are very different. For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work. That is NOT the way it will work for your 2022 tax return. The “old” rules are back. The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1500. In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working. The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1500. If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2022, you do not get the CTC. But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-f...

And for the Earned Income Credit—-the rules are back to the “old” rules—

Those under 25 and over 65 without children are not eligible as they were uniquely in 2021. And you cannot use your income from any earlier tax year to get the EIC for a 2022 return. There is no “lookback” for 2022. EIC for 2022 will be based on the income you earned by working in 2022.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899157-what-are-the-qualifications-for-the-earned-income-credit-e...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

Look at your 2022 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

DoninGA — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 23:22:16 GMT

Child Tax Credit is now back to the original amount of $2,000 per child under the age of 17

The Earned Income Tax Credit can no longer use 2019 income If larger than the current year income. The EIC is now only available for those age 25 or older and under the age of 65 with no dependents.

The Recovery Rebate Credit for stimulus payments is no longer available.

You will have to compare your federal tax returns for 2021 and 2022 side by side to see the differences.

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

Critter-3 — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 23:27:08 GMT

And the child care credit form 2441 is not fully refundable like in 2021.

topic Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year

Re: Just curious why my federal refund is $1000 less when I made $1000 more last year