Why do I not qualify for the child tax credit when I have 1 kid and made $3156

[Mike9241]

this forum can not see your tax info or return. if 3156 is earned income and your entire income then you have no income tax liability so the regular child tax credit, limited to your income tax, is zero

if 3156 is earned income then you should  get an additional child tax credit of 15% of your earned income in excess of 2500 [(3156-2500) x .15] =98

to check use the IRS EIC calculator

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant 

[Hal_Al]

The child tax credit  (CTC) is  limited to your tax liability. The CTC is a non-refundable credit and can only reduce your income tax to 0, It can not help you beyond eliminating your tax liability. But, if you have more than $2500 of earned income, some or all of it is usually given back to you thru the "Additional Child tax credit".

That is, your $98 is  on line 28 of form 1040 instead of line 19.