Nothing went "wrong." You simply did not make enough money by working to receive the full amount of the refundable child tax credit, which is based on how much you earned by working. Perhaps your expectations were affected by the very unique rules for tax year 2021, which are no longer in effect. The "old" rules came back for 2022 and beyond.
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.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
