The Child Tax Credit is the lesser of $2,000 (for one child) or the amount of your taxes owed minus any other non-refundable credits (such as the Child and Dependent Care Credit and certain Education Credits).
There are also income limitations: $400,000 for Married Filing Jointly and $200,000 for all other filing statuses, that will result in a reduction of the credit received.
Because the Child Tax Credit is a non-refundable credit, any amount of that $2,000 that exceeds your tax liability will not be refunded to you. You may qualify, however, for the Additional Child Tax Credit, which is refundable.
If you'd like to see if you have also received the Additional Child Tax Credit, you can Preview Your 1040 using the instructions below:
1.) In the upper right-hand corner of your screen, click Forms
2.) On the left-hand menu, find your Form 1040
The Additional Child Tax Credit appears on line 17b
Your Child Tax Credit amount will be on line 12a. If the amount on line 12 equals the amount on line 11, this means that your taxes have been reduced to 0, and that is why you did not receive the full amount of this credit.
