Child tax credit

[Ro65]

I have my 4 year old daughter living with me now. How do I find out about my eligibility for the child tax credit and the amount I qualify for?

[Opus 17]

In general, your child will qualify for the Child Tax Credit if she lives in your home, you claim her as a dependent, and she has a valid US social security number.  The maximum Child Tax Credit is $2000, but it can't be more than your net tax bill after your other deductions and credits.  So to claim the maximum credit, you need to have income over $50,000 (approximately) depending on whether you are married, head of household, or single.

If your income is low enough that your tax bill is less than $2000 and you can;t get the full CTC, you may qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit.  The ACTC can be paid as a refund even if you owe no tax, but you must have some income earned from working to get the credit.  (Income from investments, unemployment, and other things don't qualify for the ACTC).

Here is the form to calculate it.

https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-schedule-8812-form-1040

Here is an IRS calculator that can tell you if you are eligible

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

You can also try the Turbotax TaxCaster. 

TaxCaster tax calculator

[RyanH5]

Hi Ro65,
Thank you for joining us today.
In order to claim the Child Tax Credit, you must have a qualifying child for tax purposes. A qualifying child must meet the following test requirements set forth by the internal revenue code:

• Relationship test - the child must be the taxpayers
  son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, or any decedents of them (i.e. grandchildren)
  or, brother, sister, half sibling, step sibling, or descendant of any of them
• Age test - the child must be under 17 years old
• Residency test - the child must have the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than 1/2 of the year
• Support test - the child must not provide over 1/2 of their own financial support for the year
• Joint return test - the child cannot have filed a joint return with a spouse

Note: there are special rules in the event that two or more taxpayers can claim the same child.

If your child meets the following tests, then you can claim the child tax credit. This is a $2,000 per child credit. Up to $1,600 of which can be refundable.