Why don’t I qualify for the full child credit if my son has only lived with me I’m head of house house low income ?

[xmasbaby0]

You mentioned "low income", but we do not know what amount you mean by that ----the amount of the refundable additional child tax credit is based on how much income you earned from working.  If you only earned a low amount, you will not get the full $1700 of ACTC.

  The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2200 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.

Take the amount you earned from working.   Subtract $2500.   Multiply the rest by 15%.  That is the additional child tax credit per child that you canget—- up to the maximum of $1700 per child.   If the amount you earned from working was low, you will not get the full $1700 per child.

 If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2025, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-tax-credit/L2lNhfGDl_US_e...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6x...

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

And for the Earned Income Credit—-

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-ea...

https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

Look at your 2025 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

PREVIEW 1040

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-retur...

Child Tax Credit line 19

Credit for Other Dependents line 19

Earned Income Credit line 27

Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

AND….If you have children but had  little or no income, it raises the question of how you and the children were supported.  There may be another tax-paying adult who can claim you and/or the children as dependents.  

[DianeW777]

It depends. If you are referring to the child tax credit it depends on your income.  IF you don't have any taxable income after your standard deduction (or itemized deductions), then you would likely be eligible for the refundable portion, not the full amount. Please review the requirements and then you can view your 1040 to see if you are receiving the refundable portion of $1,700.

• Child Tax Credit Requirements

From the left rail menu in TurboTax Online, select Tax Tools (You may have to scroll down on the left rail menu.)

1. Select Tax Tools
2. On the drop-down select Tools
3. On the pop-up menu titled “Tools Center”, select View Tax Summary 
4. On the left sidebar, select Preview my 1040 

For TurboTax Desktop, change to 'Forms' and review the forms 

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