Ctc/actc/eic how do I know?

[shenderson128]

I need some serious explaining. I have a now 3 year old whom I claimed on my taxes because he lives with me and. It dad. I do a lot to take care of him. Dad wants to split tax money but I don't think it's right to go half because the EIC partially comes from my own income. I made $11,700 for the year and got a refund of $5,000.

Is there any way to know how much came from my child alone? How come I don't receive the full ctc? How much do you have to make to receive full credit? I received 1,256 for actc.

And please help me understand the difference between CTC and actc! I'm so lost trying to understand it as well as refundable/non refundable. 

Please someone help 

[xmasbaby0]

If all of you live together as a family, but are not legally married, then only one of you can enter the child on a tax return as a dependent and get any of the child-related credits.   Only divorced or never married parents who LIVE APART can sometimes share the child-related credits by having a signed form.

Both the earned income credit and the additional child tax credit amounts are based on how much income you earned by working.

See more below:

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

[xmasbaby0]

If you need further explanation----a NON-refundable credit can reduce the tax you owe.    You do not get it as a refund.   A refundable credit can be added to your income tax refund.  The $2000 child tax credit is non-refundable and is used first to reduce any tax you owe.    If your tax owed is down to zero, then the amount ""left" from that $2000 is the refundable additional child tax credit----up to $1600.   The EITC -- earned income tax credit--is also a refundable credit and is added to your refund.

Your Form 1040 shows your refund on line 35a.

[shenderson128]

Thank you so much for your response. That was helpful. Do you know how someone can get the full $2,000? 

Dad makes more than me and I'm wondering if he'd get the full amount. Child lives me and me and his dad never married unfortunately. 

He believes that I only received 5,000 because of my child but I also had income. He told me that I should get CTC and dependent for my son. I think he's not understanding something 

[shenderson128]

Also would you happen to know about credit for other dependents And dependent care credit? How can I know if I received that? Does it have anything to do with my CTC/actc?

[VolvoGirl]

You get the Other Dependent Credit if your child does not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.  Look at y our 1040 return.  Which box is checked in the Dependent section?  Then how much did you get on 1040 page 2 line 19?  The Dependent Care Credit is separate.  It  would be on Schedule 3 line 2 which goes to 1040 line 20.  

[xmasbaby0]

@shenderson128 You do not ever "get" the full $2000 as a refund.  The refundable amount of the child tax credit is limited to $1600.   And that is based on how much you earned by working.   Take the amount you earned from working, subtract $2500 from that, and then multiply the remaining amount by 15%----that is the amount you can "get" as the refundable additional child tax credit. UP TO a maximum of $1600.

If all of you live together as a family, only one of you should enter anything at all about the child on a tax return, so you should try both ways to see what works better.   Couples living together with their own child cannot "split" the child-related credits.

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

[xmasbaby0]

Oh---and you asked about the dependent care credit.  That is a credit you can get if you paid someone to take care of your child so you can work.   That is not refundable--it is not added to your refund.   If you made only $11,700, you had no tax liability, so the dependent care credit would not do anything for you.   It can only reduce tax you owe----and with your income of $11,700 you would not owe any tax.

[Opus 17]

---

@shenderson128 wrote:

Also would you happen to know about credit for other dependents And dependent care credit? How can I know if I received that? Does it have anything to do with my CTC/actc?

---

If you live together unmarried and share a child, only one of you can list the child as a dependent.  That person gets to claim all the tax benefits of the child.  Usually, it is better for the parent who earns more money to claim the child, but the only way to know is to test it both ways before deciding how to file.

The child tax credit is up to $2000, but it is based on your taxable income and your income earned from working.  If you are single, you need an income of at least $30,000 to get the full child tax credit or additional child tax credit.

To get the dependent care credit, you must pay for care so that you can work or got to school full time.  The credit is on a sliding scale from 20% to 35% depending on income, but the credit is not refundable if you don't owe tax.  So if your income is less than $30,000, your taxes will be covered by the child tax credit and you won't get any additional benefit for claiming dependent care.  If your income is over $30,000, you will get some benefit, up to an additional $1250 or so.

If the person who pays more than half the household expenses is the person who claims the child as a dependent, that person can file using head of household status.  That has lower tax rates than single status.

If the person with lower income claims the child, that person may qualify for EIC.  The amount is on a sliding scale based on income.

Because the child tax credit, EIC, dependent care credit, and head of household rules are all slightly different, the only way to know which parent should claim the child for the most tax savings is to test it both ways.