I do not understand why I am not receiving a child tax credit for two kids, since my tax liability is $0. What does this mean?

[xmasbaby0]

Did you enter income earned from working?   If you do not have at least $2500 of income from working, you will not get any refundable additional child tax credit.

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

[JohnB5677]

The credit is based on the amount of tax that you owe. If the credit exceeds your tax liability, you may be getting the Additional Child tax credit.

• For 2024, 2023 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 $1,600 per qualifying child in 2024 and 2023 is refundable with the Additional Child Tax Credit.

You can see this credit on your tax return form 1040

You can preview your tax return by going to:

1. On the menu bar on the left that shows.
2. Select Tax Tools
3. On the drop-down select Tools
4. On the popup menu
5. Select View Tax Summary
6. On the left sidebar
7. Select Preview my 1040.

Child Tax Credit is on line 19

The additional Child Tax Credit is in line 28

Please contact us again with any additional questions or to provide some additional details.