What is the maximum refund that you can get by adding a child as a dependent in 2017? My refund amount increased by $1,240. How does this compare to the maximum amount?

[azanza]

I was surprised to see that my refund increased by $1,240 (of which $1,134 was from my federal taxes). I thought the limit was less and that it would be reduced given my income. I'd like to know this to decide if it's better to let my ex-wife claim her as I have read that certain income thresholds reduce the refund.

[Anita01]

Did the child live with you?

[azanza]

Given our legal agreement I can claim the child but I don’t see how this is relevant to the question. I’m not asking if I can claim the child or not. I’m interested in knowing what is the maximum refund that a taxpayer can receive by claiming a child as a dependent.

[xmasbaby0]

Whether the child lives with you is relevant because there are certain credits that can only be claimed by the custodial parent.

[azanza]

I apologize if I wasn’t specific enough. I meat to find out only about the credits for someone who spends less than 6mo with the child. In this situation I understand that you can only claim the child tax credit (not head of household, dependent care expenses, etc) but I was surprised when I saw the numbers referenced above.

[xmasbaby0]

If you are not the custodial parent, and the other parent signed a form 8332, you get the child's personal exemption of $4050 which lowers the amount of income you are taxed on, and you get the child tax credit.
Look at your tax return to see the child-related /dependent credits you received:
Child Tax Credit 1040A  line 35 1040 line 49
Additional Child Tax Credit 1040A  line 43 1040 line 67
Child & Dependent Care Credit 1040A line 31 1040 line 49
Earned Income Credit 1040A line 42a            1040 line 66a
The children you listed as your dependents will appear on line 6c
Personal Exemptions   1040A line 26 1040 line 42

[Anita01 · Accepted solution]

If you are the noncustodial parent, you can  receive the personal exemption of $4,050, which may increase your refund because it is used to lower your taxable income.  How much it helps you depends on your taxable income and tax rate.

The credit you receive is the Child Tax credit, which ha a maximum of $1,000, and can be used to decrease any tax you owe.  That credit can become the Additional Child tax Credit depending on your income and tax owed.  See the line references above.

There's no fixed maximum for claiming a child, although many people seem to think there is.  Like most tax situations, the answer is that it depends on many other other factors in your specific return.