If married and filing jointly with both spouses claiming/filing 0 on w-4, can we still get child tax credit for both our children?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

How you claim exemptions on your W-4 that you give to your employer is not relevant on how you claim dependents or your eligibility for the child tax credit on your federal tax return.

There are earned income limits for claiming the child tax credit and the age of the child being claimed as a dependent.

See IRS Publication 972 for the Child Tax Credit - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p972.pdf

Use this IRS website to determine if you are eligible for the CTC - https://www.irs.gov/uac/Am-I-Eligible-for-the-Child-Tax-Credit%3F

[Hal_Al]

What you claim on your W-4 is only an estimate of your tax liability. You are not "locked in" by what you claim. At tax time you still get to claim everything you are allowed, no matter how accurate or inaccurate your W-4 was.

[jennyann52]

Thank you for the quick reply.

[SweetieJean]

However, if you are underwitheld, you may be subject to an underpayment penalty,