why did my tax credit go down 1500.00 from last year?

[dj-devrico]

my tax credit last year was 4000.00 and this year is 2500.00, why is that?

[VolvoGirl]

One thing,  did one of your dependents turn 17 in 2024?  Then you only get the 500 Other Dependent credit for t hem.  

[xmasbaby0]

If you have a child who turned 17, you lost the child tax credit for the child and now you get the $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-f...

[Vanessa A]

There are several reasons why your refund can change.

Did you have a child that turned 17?  If so, they no longer qualify for the $2,000 Child Tax Credit, instead they qualify for the $500 Other Dependent Credit. In order to claim the Child Tax Credit your child must be under 17 at the end of the year.   This would be the most reasonable explanation with a $1,500 change.

Other reasons could be an increase in income which would decrease your Earned Income Tax Credit.

Or less taxes withheld from your W-2.  

If you did not have a child that turned 17, then you can go line by line and compare your last years return to this year to find the area that has changed and caused your refund to decrease.  This will tell you exactly where the change is coming from.