topic I paid $4,478 in taxes for federal, was given a $2000 child tax credit and my return is only $971. Thai doesn’t make sense in Deductions & credits

I paid $4,478 in taxes for federal, was given a $2000 child tax credit and my return is only $971. Thai doesn’t make sense

candice-marketamerica — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:56:37 GMT

Re: I paid $4,478 in taxes for federal, was given a $2000 child tax credit and my return is only $971. Thai doesn’t make sense

rjs — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 02:35:41 GMT

You're not supposed to get back all of the tax that you paid through withholding or estimated tax payments. You have to pay tax to the government to pay for government services.

From the figures you gave, it looks like the total tax you have to pay for 2024 is $5,507. The $2,000 child tax credit reduces that to $3,507. You paid $4,478 in advance, so you get a refund of $4,478 - $3,507, which is $971. The government keeps the $3,507.

Re: I paid $4,478 in taxes for federal, was given a $2000 child tax credit and my return is only $971. Thai doesn’t make sense

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 02:35:41 GMT

The $2000 CTC is used first to pay towards your tax liability. Once your liability is at zero, the rest of the refundable portion can be added to your refund and will be shown on line 28 of your Form 1040.

Look at your 2024 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-return-filing/L77WCkvnu_US_en_US?uid=m681fkhr

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28