Why am I getting 500 for the child tax credit if my child is under 6?

[Jenjenn97]

I put everything correctly and the “Not valid for employment' is unchecked.

[KrisD15]

Are you getting the "Credit for Other Dependents" rather than the "Child Tax Credit"? 

The Child Tax Credit is based on a child that meet these requirements:

• Be under age 17 at the end of the year
• Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild, niece or nephew)
• Provide no more than half of their own financial support during the year
• Have lived with you for more than half the year
• Be properly claimed as your dependent on your tax return
• Not file a joint return with their spouse for the tax year or file it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid
• Have been a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien

If you think you should be getting the Child Tax Credit, but TurboTax is not showing that, try the IRS INTERVIEW to see if you qualify. 

If the IRS interview shows you should be getting that credit, but you don't see it on the return you are preparing in TurboTax, go back through the TurboTax interview for that child and check your responses. Be sure you answer the question regarding whether the child supplies more than half their own support. 

IRS INTERVIEW 

[Jenjenn97]

Yes, my child meets the requirements for it. 

[ThomasM125]

A common error is on the screen that says Did (name of child) pay more than half of his living Expenses? You have to answer "No" if you supported the child. A lot of people mis-read that and answer "Yes". Also, the credit may be reduced if your income is over $200,000 for a single filer or $400,000 is filing married-joint.

[xmasbaby0]

Sometimes it helps to just delete the dependent and enter them again so that you go through all of the My Info screens and get them entered correctly.

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.