Are you able to get money back for a child if you have little to no income on taxes?

[DoninGA]

For tax year 2023 you must have earned income from work of at least $2,500 to be eligible for the child tax credit.

[xmasbaby0]

The 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/L6x...

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 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-e...

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

AND….If you have children but had  little or no income, it raises the question of how you and the children were supported.  There may be another tax-paying adult who can claim you and/or the children as dependents.  

[Hal_Al]

Q.  Are you able to get money back for a child if you have little to no income on taxes?

A.  Simple answer: No. The Earned Income credit (EIC) kicks in with your first dollar of income. But, you must have $2500 of more to get the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit.  

The money you hear about people getting for just filing a tax return claiming kids requires them to  have some earned income (wages or self employment). Without earned income, they are not eligible for the "refundable" Earned Income Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit.  Both credits are calculated on the amount of earned income you have. No earned income means no "refund". A small amount of earned income means a small refund.

A child can be the “qualifying child” dependent of any close relative in the household. If you live with someone else, e.g. your parents, it may be better if they claim your child.

Instead, you could allow the non-custodial parent to claim the children.  Non-custodial parents are allowed to claim the child tax credit, but not the Earned income credit.