Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

2954kaiser — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 08:51:55 GMT

Re: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 04:02:36 GMT

The child-related credits are based on how much you earned from working. Did you earn less in 2023?

he 2021 child-related credits were very generous. Lots of people are still being taken by surprise when they find out the credits for 2022 and 2023 are lower than they were for 2021.

The tax laws changed for child-related credits and are much less generous for 2022 and 2023.

Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number. Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment. If your child was born in 2023 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year. There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support. Say NO to that question.

Have you entered income from working in 2023? If not, you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

The rules for getting the child tax credit on a 2021 tax return and now on a 2023 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 2023 tax return. The “old” rules are back.

The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1600. 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 $1600 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1600.

If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2023, 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://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6xFeMFEf_US_en_US?uid=lqnuygah

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

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 2023. EIC for 2023 will be based on the income you earned by working in 2023.

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

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

Look at your 2023 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: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

DawnC — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 04:05:38 GMT

It may be due to their age. Children 17 or older only qualify for a $500 credit as opposed to children under 17 that get you a $2,000 credit. Were they both under 17 as of Dec 31?

Re: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

2954kaiser — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 04:11:36 GMT

It is due to there age then. Wow what a bad deal. They get more expensive the older they get not cheaper lol.
Thank you so much for your help.

topic Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents? in Deductions & credits

Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

Re: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

Re: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?

Re: Why am I receiving less tax credit this year for my kids that are still both dependents?