Does my child tax credit refund of only $1,600 sound right even though my income was only around $20,000 last year and I am claiming 3 dependents (Kids).

[Vanessa A]

Maybe, but probably should be closer to $2,600.  If you are filing as head of household you would have little to no taxable income after your standard deduction of $19,400 so you would have very little tax liability.  This means you do not qualify for the non-refundable child tax credit.

You would only qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit. The Additional Child Tax Credit is 15% of your earned income minus $2,500.  So if you had $20,000 in earned income then your Additional Child Tax Credit should be $2,625 if your income would be exactly $20,000.  ((20,000-2,500)x .15).

This is the number you should see on line 28 of your 1040. 

The non-refundable child tax credit itself is seen on line 19. 

 If you do not see that amount, then you should go back through your dependents to be sure they qualify and double check your W2 entries to be sure you entered all of your income correctly.  Note, the Additional Child Tax Credit is based on earned income, so if you had other sources of income this would not be part of the calculation. 

[rickyjoha91312]

I double checked my income and I am filing as Married (Jointly) . 

To be exact the total income from me and my wife w-2 / 1099 was around $18,000 minus $7,000 in capital loss from investments. 

For some reason its still only showing $1,600 as child tax credit . 

[DavidD66]

It may be because you have little or tax liability on your income.  For 2022, 2020, and earlier tax years, the Child Tax Credit is nonrefundable; if your credit exceeds your tax liability, your tax bill is reduced to zero, and any remaining unused credit is lost. However, you may be able to claim a refundable Additional Child Tax Credit for the unused balance.

• Up to $1,500 per qualifying child in 2022 is refundable with the Additional Child Tax Credit.
• You can find out if you're eligible for this refundable credit by completing the worksheet in IRS Form 8812.

You can use the IRS interactive tool to determine how much you are entitled to by going to IRS Child Tax Credit Tool