child credit less than last year

[rsspnet]

last year (2019 tax year) i got the 2k per child/dependent tax credit and since i have 2 kids, it was a total of 4k.  this year (2020 tax filing year) i'm only getting a total of 2.5k child/dependent tax credit... We're filing married jointly, one child is 12 years old, the other turned 17 on december 2020. We made less income in 2020 than in 2019... none of the kids worked, they're both in school fulltime.  We are not filling a complicated income tax return, just your regular family tax return.  Can someone give me an i dean why the tax credit is so low this year?

[MinhT1 · Accepted solution]

Your child who turn 17 in December 2020 is no longer eligible for the child tax credit of $2,000, but only to the Other dependent credit of $500. This is why the Child tax credit and Other dependent credit in 2020 is only $2,500 and not $4,000 like in tax year 2019.

Your first child has simply aged out of the child tax credit. It has nothing to do with your income level.