Can I get Child and Other DependentsTax Credit?

[Teresaschmitz]

Granddaughter, 15 years old, I support 100%

[DoninGA]

If you have earned income of $2,500 you can be eligible for the child tax credit for a dependent child, if the child meets all the requirements under the Qualifying Child Rules.

To be a Qualifying Child -

1. The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of any of them.
2. The child must be (a) under age 19 at the end of the year, (b) under age 24 at the end of the year and a full-time student or (c) any age and permanently and totally disabled.
3. The child must have lived with you for more than half of the year. Temporary absences while away at college are considered living with you.
4. The child must not have provided more than half of his or her own support for the year.
5. If the child meets the rules to be a qualifying child of more than one person, you must be the person entitled to claim the child as a qualifying child.
6. The child must be a U.S. citizen or U.S., Canada or Mexico resident for some portion of the year.
7. The child must be younger than you unless disabled.

[xmasbaby0]

The child and dependent care credit is available for people with children under 13 when they have to pay someone to take care of the child so they can work.

Are you actually asking about the Child Tax Credit?

IRS interview to help determine who can be claimed:

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/who-can-i-claim-as-a-dependent

WHO CAN I CLAIM AS A DEPENDENT?

You can claim a child, relative, friend, or fiancé (etc.) as a dependent on your 2025 taxes as long as they meet the following requirements:

Qualifying child

• They're related to you.
• They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
• They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
• They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
• They're under the age of 19 (or 24 for full-time students).
  • No age limit for permanently and totally disabled children.
  • They lived with you for more than half the year (exceptions apply).
  • They didn't provide more than half of their own support for the year.

    Qualifying relative

    • They don't have to be related to you (despite the name).
    • They aren't claimed as a dependent by someone else.
    • They're a U.S. citizen, resident alien, national, or a Canadian or Mexican resident.
    • They aren’t filing a joint return with their spouse.
    • They lived with you the entire year (exceptions apply).
    • They made less than $5200 in 2025 (not counting Social Security)
    • You provided more than half of their financial support.

      To claim a grandchild as your dependent

      When you enter the child’s name in My Info, you will be asked “What’s your relationship to  [child’s name]?”  

                 Choose “another person”

                  a drop down menu will appear that lets you choose grandchild

      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 2025 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.

      If your dependent was a full-time college student, make sure you were careful on the MY INFO screen for “Uncommon situations” and that you indicated there that they were a student.

      Have you entered income from working in 2025?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

        The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2200 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  

      Take the amount you earned from working.   Subtract $2500.   Multiply the rest by 15%.  That is the additional child tax credit per child that you can get—- up to the maximum of $1700 per child.   If the amount you earned from working was low, you will not get the full $1700 per child.

       If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2025, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

      https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-tax-credit/L2lNhfGDl_US_e...

      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—-

      https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-ea...

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

      https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

      Look at your 2025 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-retur...

      Child Tax Credit line 19

      Credit for Other Dependents line 19

      Earned Income Credit line 27

      Additional Child Tax Credit line 28