How to Get the Child Tax Credit
Meet the age and relationship tests., Provide support for the child., Claim the child as a dependent., Meet the citizenship test., Live with the child., Confirm that your income falls within the family income limitations., Calculate your adjusted...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Meet the age and relationship tests.
You may be able to claim the child tax credit for each child under the age of 17 who is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of any of those people.Descendants include your nieces or nephews as well as your grandchildren.For purposes of the child tax credit, adopted children are considered your own children.
This includes any child placed with you for adoption regardless of whether the legal process of adoption is finished by the end of the year.To qualify, each child for whom you wish to claim the child tax credit must be 16 years old or younger at the end of the tax year. -
Step 2: Provide support for the child.
Children don't qualify for the child tax credit if they provide more than half of their own support.For example, if you have a son who is a child actor and earned $80,000 in the tax year, he may not qualify for the child tax credit.
However, a high school child who is going to school full-time and has a part-time job still may qualify if she lives with you.
You also cannot claim the child as a dependent if he or she provides more than half of his or her own support. , To claim the child tax credit, you must claim the child as a dependent on your taxes.You can claim a child as a dependent if he or she is your child, sibling, niece, nephew, or grandchild under the age of 19 who lived with you for more than half the year and provided no more than half of his or her own support., Children only qualify for purposes of the child tax credit if they are U.S. citizens, nationals, or resident aliens.Children are considered a U.S. nationals if they were born in American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands., With some exceptions, you can only claim the child tax credit if the child lived with you for more than half of the tax year.This qualification is the same as the qualification for claiming the child as a dependent, so if you've claimed the child as a dependent you've already met this test. , Even if you have a qualifying child, you can only claim the full child tax credit if you have a modified adjusted gross income above a certain amount.The phase-out begins at different amounts depending on your filing status.
If you are married filing jointly, the credit begins to phase out at $110,000 a year in modified adjusted gross income.
If you are married filing separately, the child tax credit begins to phase out at $50,000.
Otherwise, the phase-out begins at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income.The amount of the child tax credit also depends on the amount of income tax you owe.
If you don't owe any taxes, you generally cannot get the child tax credit, although you may be eligible for the additional child tax credit., Your AGI is your total income for the year minus any deductions that the IRS allows you to use to reduce your taxable income.What "above the line" deductions – called adjustments – you can take to reduce your taxable income depends on which tax return you fill out, but generally include amounts such as student loan interest and tuition payments, IRA contributions, or court-ordered alimony payments., Your MAGI includes amounts otherwise excluded from your AGI, such as income from Puerto Rico or foreign earned income.The IRS also uses the MAGI for other deductions such as student loan interest payments., If your MAGI is greater than the IRS limits, your child tax credit is reduced.
The limitation amount depends on your tax filing status.
If you are married filing jointly, you are not eligible for the full $1,000 child tax credit if your MAGI is greater than $110,000.
If you are married filing separately, you are not eligible for the full child tax credit if your MAGI is greater than $55,000.
For all other taxpayers, the limitation amount is $75,000., If you get less than the full amount of the child tax credit, you may be eligible for a refund by claiming the additional child tax credit.
You must complete the child tax credit worksheet for your tax form to find out if you can get the additional child tax credit.The worksheet includes blanks to enter additional amounts from your tax return, including the credits you're claiming for child and dependent care expenses, education credits, and retirement savings contributions.If the amount you calculate after adding these credits is greater than the amount you initially calculated for the basic child tax credit, you may be able to claim the additional child tax credit., To claim the child tax credit, you must file Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040NR.
You cannot claim the child tax credit if you are filing Form 1040-EZ or Form 1040NR-EZ.,, If you are filling out Schedule 8812, you must first calculate your earned income.For the purposes of the additional child tax credit, earned income includes all taxable earned income and any nontaxable combat pay.Generally, earned income is wages you get from working, net earnings from a business or farm you own, and long-term disability payments.
Income such as Social Security or unemployment benefits, alimony, child support, or interest and dividends are not considered earned income., You must use Schedule 8812 to determine whether you can claim the additional child tax credit.
To qualify for the additional child tax credit, you must have an earned income of more than $3,000 for the tax year or have three or more qualifying children.Your additional child tax credit will be up to 15 percent of the amount of your earned income that is greater than $3,000.For example, if your earned income is $7,000, you may claim $600 as an additional child tax credit, which is 15 percent of $4,000.
If you also are claiming an Earned Income Credit (EIC), you have the option to claim a refundable credit for the amount of which the net Social Security and Medicare tax you paid exceeds your EIC.Your additional child tax credit, which is refundable, is limited to $1,000 per qualifying child and reduced by the amount of nonrefundable child tax credit you claimed, if any., Once you've completed the calculations of how much child tax credit you can claim, you must enter the amount in the appropriate box on your tax return.
The child tax credit and the additional child tax credit are entered on different lines of your return.
For example, if you are filing Form 1040, you would enter any child tax credit you're claiming on Line 52 and attach Schedule 8812 if the qualifying child has an ITIN rather than an SSN.
Any additional child tax credit you claim goes on Line
67., Claiming the child tax credit enables you to reduce your initial tax burden and potentially receive a refund.
The additional child tax credit is categorized as a tax payment.
If all payments and credits categorized as payments are greater than your total tax, you are due a refund. -
Step 3: Claim the child as a dependent.
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Step 4: Meet the citizenship test.
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Step 5: Live with the child.
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Step 6: Confirm that your income falls within the family income limitations.
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Step 7: Calculate your adjusted gross income (AGI).
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Step 8: Find your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
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Step 9: Compare your modified adjusted gross income to the limitation amounts provided by the IRS.
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Step 10: Determine if you qualify for the additional child tax credit.
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Step 11: File the appropriate tax return form.
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Step 12: Provide the name and Social Security number of each qualifying child.If the child does not have a Social Security number
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Step 13: you must use the child's Individual Taxpayer Identification Number and fill out Part I of Schedule 8812.
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Step 14: Calculate your earned income.
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Step 15: Complete Schedule 8812.
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Step 16: Enter the credit amount on your tax return.
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Step 17: Adjust the amount of tax you owe.
Detailed Guide
You may be able to claim the child tax credit for each child under the age of 17 who is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, step-sibling, or a descendant of any of those people.Descendants include your nieces or nephews as well as your grandchildren.For purposes of the child tax credit, adopted children are considered your own children.
This includes any child placed with you for adoption regardless of whether the legal process of adoption is finished by the end of the year.To qualify, each child for whom you wish to claim the child tax credit must be 16 years old or younger at the end of the tax year.
Children don't qualify for the child tax credit if they provide more than half of their own support.For example, if you have a son who is a child actor and earned $80,000 in the tax year, he may not qualify for the child tax credit.
However, a high school child who is going to school full-time and has a part-time job still may qualify if she lives with you.
You also cannot claim the child as a dependent if he or she provides more than half of his or her own support. , To claim the child tax credit, you must claim the child as a dependent on your taxes.You can claim a child as a dependent if he or she is your child, sibling, niece, nephew, or grandchild under the age of 19 who lived with you for more than half the year and provided no more than half of his or her own support., Children only qualify for purposes of the child tax credit if they are U.S. citizens, nationals, or resident aliens.Children are considered a U.S. nationals if they were born in American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands., With some exceptions, you can only claim the child tax credit if the child lived with you for more than half of the tax year.This qualification is the same as the qualification for claiming the child as a dependent, so if you've claimed the child as a dependent you've already met this test. , Even if you have a qualifying child, you can only claim the full child tax credit if you have a modified adjusted gross income above a certain amount.The phase-out begins at different amounts depending on your filing status.
If you are married filing jointly, the credit begins to phase out at $110,000 a year in modified adjusted gross income.
If you are married filing separately, the child tax credit begins to phase out at $50,000.
Otherwise, the phase-out begins at $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income.The amount of the child tax credit also depends on the amount of income tax you owe.
If you don't owe any taxes, you generally cannot get the child tax credit, although you may be eligible for the additional child tax credit., Your AGI is your total income for the year minus any deductions that the IRS allows you to use to reduce your taxable income.What "above the line" deductions – called adjustments – you can take to reduce your taxable income depends on which tax return you fill out, but generally include amounts such as student loan interest and tuition payments, IRA contributions, or court-ordered alimony payments., Your MAGI includes amounts otherwise excluded from your AGI, such as income from Puerto Rico or foreign earned income.The IRS also uses the MAGI for other deductions such as student loan interest payments., If your MAGI is greater than the IRS limits, your child tax credit is reduced.
The limitation amount depends on your tax filing status.
If you are married filing jointly, you are not eligible for the full $1,000 child tax credit if your MAGI is greater than $110,000.
If you are married filing separately, you are not eligible for the full child tax credit if your MAGI is greater than $55,000.
For all other taxpayers, the limitation amount is $75,000., If you get less than the full amount of the child tax credit, you may be eligible for a refund by claiming the additional child tax credit.
You must complete the child tax credit worksheet for your tax form to find out if you can get the additional child tax credit.The worksheet includes blanks to enter additional amounts from your tax return, including the credits you're claiming for child and dependent care expenses, education credits, and retirement savings contributions.If the amount you calculate after adding these credits is greater than the amount you initially calculated for the basic child tax credit, you may be able to claim the additional child tax credit., To claim the child tax credit, you must file Form 1040, Form 1040A, or Form 1040NR.
You cannot claim the child tax credit if you are filing Form 1040-EZ or Form 1040NR-EZ.,, If you are filling out Schedule 8812, you must first calculate your earned income.For the purposes of the additional child tax credit, earned income includes all taxable earned income and any nontaxable combat pay.Generally, earned income is wages you get from working, net earnings from a business or farm you own, and long-term disability payments.
Income such as Social Security or unemployment benefits, alimony, child support, or interest and dividends are not considered earned income., You must use Schedule 8812 to determine whether you can claim the additional child tax credit.
To qualify for the additional child tax credit, you must have an earned income of more than $3,000 for the tax year or have three or more qualifying children.Your additional child tax credit will be up to 15 percent of the amount of your earned income that is greater than $3,000.For example, if your earned income is $7,000, you may claim $600 as an additional child tax credit, which is 15 percent of $4,000.
If you also are claiming an Earned Income Credit (EIC), you have the option to claim a refundable credit for the amount of which the net Social Security and Medicare tax you paid exceeds your EIC.Your additional child tax credit, which is refundable, is limited to $1,000 per qualifying child and reduced by the amount of nonrefundable child tax credit you claimed, if any., Once you've completed the calculations of how much child tax credit you can claim, you must enter the amount in the appropriate box on your tax return.
The child tax credit and the additional child tax credit are entered on different lines of your return.
For example, if you are filing Form 1040, you would enter any child tax credit you're claiming on Line 52 and attach Schedule 8812 if the qualifying child has an ITIN rather than an SSN.
Any additional child tax credit you claim goes on Line
67., Claiming the child tax credit enables you to reduce your initial tax burden and potentially receive a refund.
The additional child tax credit is categorized as a tax payment.
If all payments and credits categorized as payments are greater than your total tax, you are due a refund.
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Catherine Campbell
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