There is no glitch in the software.
It's just complicated and expectations are sometimes unrealistic. Many people just don't get the full $2000 per child. It's easy to make mistakes.
There are 7 possible reasons; you aren’t getting the Child Tax credit (CTC). It’s usually #4:
To get a 'second opinion' on-line direct from IRS, try https://www.irs.gov/uac/is-my-child-a-qualifying-child-for-the-child-tax-credit
https://www.irs.gov/uac/Ten-Facts-about-the-Child-Tax-Credit
The refundable part--called additional child tax credit--is based on how much income you had from working. Have you entered income from working at a W-2 job or from self-employment?
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 2024 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 2024? 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 $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700. 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 $1700 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1700.
If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2024, 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
Look at your 2024 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
Do you see an amount on line 28 of your 1040? Your credit is limited because part is non refundable so if you have no tax liability you can’t use it. The rest is additional tax credit and that is based on multiplying your earned income over $2500 by 15 percent.
I just tried to file and our federal refund is normally between $3k - $3600; but this year it’s only $86. And I noticed it shows the child tax credit line of $1000 instead of $4000 like it shows on my 2023 taxes.
@New08 Did you have two kids who turned 17 in 2024? If so, you lose the child tax credit for those children and get the $500 credit for other dependents instead.
@New08 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 2024 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.
Yes I have entered my children’s information correctly
@New08 If they are under age 16, and they have Social Security numbers, you have entered something else incorrectly if you are not getting the full $2000 per child on line 19. Check again. Make sure you did not check the box that says their SSN's are not valid for employment. Check again for that question that asked if they paid for over half their own support --- you have to say NO.
Sometimes it helps to delete the dependent and start by entering them again.
I have done everything you’ve said. I made more than $2,500, I entered my child’s information correctly. The boxes for my child’s SSN and if they take care of themselves is NOT selected. I’ve even deleted the dependent and re-added them. It tells me I qualify for the $2,000 child tax credit, but it doesn’t add it to my federal refund amount. I filed the exact same last year, nothing at all has changed, and I received $5k more last year. Please explain why I’m not receiving anything for my child this year.
You say "made more than $2,500". But, that's not enough info. It depends on how much more than $2500 you made.
What is on lines 1z, 18, 19 and 28 of your form 1040?
Line 1z is your earned income.
Line 18 is your tax liability.
Line 19 is your "regular" Child Tax credit. It will not be more than line 18.
Line 28 is your Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). It's calculated based on what's on lines 1z and 19. The ACTC is calculated on Schedule 8812 and is basically 15% of your earned income over $2500, but not more than $1700.
I have the same issue. I think there is glicted in software desktop version.
There is no glitch in the software.
It's just complicated and expectations are sometimes unrealistic. Many people just don't get the full $2000 per child. It's easy to make mistakes.
There are 7 possible reasons; you aren’t getting the Child Tax credit (CTC). It’s usually #4:
To get a 'second opinion' on-line direct from IRS, try https://www.irs.gov/uac/is-my-child-a-qualifying-child-for-the-child-tax-credit
https://www.irs.gov/uac/Ten-Facts-about-the-Child-Tax-Credit
I thought it was a glitch, but it is not. Here is what I found out: the IRS makes changes to people's W-4 forms every year, lowering federal withholding while increasing Social Security to offset it. My company did this quietly, and most people do not check their W-4 annually. They do this so they don’t have to refund a large amount of money during tax season. You will need to make your own calculation and pay additional taxes to IRS per paycheck.
I have the same issue. There is different a glitch. I put all my info into TaxAct and they are giving me the full child tax credit. I research the information on the IRS. I am filing jointly and our AGI was under $400,000. Our kids are 12 and 8. However, Turbo Tax is only giving us $1,000. There is a glitch!
If you'd like, we can look at your return and see exactly what you see to help come to a resolution. The return will be scrubbed and won't include any of your personal details.
If you're using TurboTax Online:
Once you're logged in to your account,
- on the left hand panel, click on Tax Tools and then choose Tools
- on the pop up window, select Share my file with Agent
- you'll see a message saying you'll give us a copy of your tax return. Your personal information will be changed so we can't see any private information.
- click okay and you'll get another message with a token
Please reply to this message with your token so that we can further assist you. Let us know what state is included in your return.
The fact that you are getting exactly $1000, instead of $4000, for 2 kids, under 17, suggests that you have entered the wrong birth dates.
This is my third year using TurboTax and I have never had an issue. I just triple checked and their birthdays are correct. Also, I have compared the TurboTax summary to the TaxAct summary and EVERYTHING is the exact same except the Child Tax Credit.
@maine5 wrote:
This is my third year using TurboTax and I have never had an issue. I just triple checked and their birthdays are correct. Also, I have compared the TurboTax summary to the TaxAct summary and EVERYTHING is the exact same except the Child Tax Credit.
Did you indicate that the the child did NOT provide over one-half of their own support. Did you indicate the child lived with you for the whole year. Did you indicate that there was no one else in the household supporting the child. Did you NOT check the box "not valid for employment" in the Social Security number section.
If all of your answers are correct, then delete the dependent and re-enter.
Thank you, @DoninGA! I went into both of their information and the box was checked for "not valid for employment". I am not sure why that checked. I did not change that this year nor remember checking it other years but that was in fact the issue! You are amazing. Thank you!
We are US citizens living in Europe for years. This year with Turbotax it says I can't claim child tax credit even though we have been qualified for years. Also, I looked at the FAQ and it says that the child needs to be a US resident. That is not correct according to the IRS website.
I also filed out my taxes on another site without issues getting the child tax credit.
Now, I'm confused why Turbotax disqualifies us.
Make sure you didn't check the box under your dependent SSN that his/her SSN is not valid for employment.
Also, The child tax credit is a non-refundable credit and can only reduce your tax liability to zero, but won't get any leftover amount back as a refund. But, if you have more than $2500 of earned income, you might be able to claim the "Additional Child tax credit"
Per IRS:
To be a qualifying child for the 2024 tax year, your dependent generally must:
You qualify for the full amount of the 2024 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if you meet all eligibility factors and your annual income is not more than $200,000 ($400,000 if filing a joint return).
This EXACT thing has been happening to me for 4 years. I have THREE dependents. It ALWAYS, every single year, marks my middle child wrong. I know for a fact I’m not doing anything incorrectly. I ALWAYS make sure I triple check the boxes I mark and they are always marked correctly. They always NO MATTER WHAT mark my son as other. I have never gotten the full amount for him. I never got the 3600 for him during Covid and I never got any stimulus checks for him. Turbo Tax DEFINITELY has a glitch. Idc what these bot accounts that work for TT say. I will not be using this bs anymore. I just had to amend 3 years worth of returns and I have to amend this years too when my refund comes. It’s so annoying.
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 2024 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 2024? 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 $2000 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 2024, you do not get the CTC. But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.
And for the Earned Income Credit—-
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 2024 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received
PREVIEW 1040
Child Tax Credit line 19
Credit for Other Dependents line 19
Earned Income Credit line 27
Additional Child Tax Credit line 28