Child tax credit 2024
For 2024 (taxes filed in 2025), the child tax credit is worth up to $2,000 per qualifying dependent child. The refundable portion, also known as the additional child tax credit, is worth up to $1,700.
The Child Tax Credit is worth a maximum of $2,000 per qualifying child. Up to $1,700 is refundable.
The maximum credit amount is $500 for each dependent who meets certain conditions. This credit can be claimed for: Dependents of any age, including those who are age 18 or older. Dependents who have Social Security numbers or Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers.
You can claim the Child Tax Credit by entering your children and other dependents on Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and attaching a completed Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents.
A2. To claim the credit, you will need to complete Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses, and include the form when you file your Federal income tax return. In completing the form to claim the credit, you will need to provide a valid taxpayer identification number (TIN) for each qualifying person.
To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
Good Reasons
If your income disqualifies you from claiming these credits, your child's income probably doesn't disqualify him or her. Therefore, your child may be able to report payment of education expenses for tax purposes and then claim one of the credits – but only if you don't claim him or her as a dependent.
The maximum credit amount is $500 for each qualifying person. The credit begins to decrease in value if your adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 ($400,000 for married filing jointly).
Head of household (HOH) filing status allows you to file at a lower tax rate and a higher standard deduction than the filing status of single. But to qualify, you must meet specific criteria. Choosing this status by mistake may lead to your HOH filing status being denied at the time you file your tax return.
Claim the Child and Dependent Care Credit
The Child and Dependent Care Credit is based on a percentage of the amount you paid for the care of a qualifying child or dependent. For tax year 2024, the total expenses you can claim are capped at $3,000 for one eligible individual and $6,000 for two or more.
A person cannot be claimed as a dependent unless that person is a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien, U.S. national, or a resident of Canada or Mexico, for some part of the year. (There is an exception for certain adopted children.) A dependent must be either a qualifying child or qualifying relative.
The average individual income tax refund was $3,050 for the 2023 tax-filing year, a 4.8% increase from the previous year, when the average refund was $2,910, according to the IRS. For many consumers, tax refunds are a significant influx of extra cash they get each year.
If you're a dependent on someone else's return
You may want to file anyway so you can get any federal income tax your employer withheld back as a refund or claim certain refundable tax credits.
If it has been longer than a year since your marriage and/or birth of your child, VA may only pay you back to the date you submitted your dependency claim or, in some cases, only up to one year before you submitted your dependency claim.
The child must be: (a) under age 19 at the end of the year and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), (b) under age 24 at the end of the year, a full- time student, and younger than you (or your spouse, if filing jointly), or (c) any age if permanently and totally disabled.
In some cases, a taxpayer qualifies and gets less than the full credit. These taxpayers must have earned income of at least $2,500 to receive a refund, even if they owe no tax, with the additional child tax credit. The credit begins to phase out at $200,000 of modified adjusted gross income.
Your significant other earned less than $5,050 for 2024.
According to the IRS dependent rules, your boyfriend or girlfriend must have earned less than $5,050 for the 2024 tax year if you want to claim them as a dependent.
To meet the qualifying child test, your child must be younger than you or your spouse if filing jointly and either younger than 19 years old or be a "student" younger than 24 years old as of the end of the calendar year.
Claiming a dependent on your tax return can significantly reduce your tax bill or increase your refund. By taking advantage of credits like the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and deductions for child care and medical expenses, you could save thousands of dollars come tax time.
If both parents claim the same child for child-related tax benefits, the IRS applies a tiebreaker rule. If a child lived with each parent the same amount of time during the year, the IRS allows the parent with the higher adjusted gross income (AGI) to claim the child.
A qualifying child can earn an unlimited amount of money and still be claimed as a dependent, so long as the child doesn't also provide more than half of their own support.
College students who are funding more than half of their living expenses could see a financial benefit from filing independently. To file as an independent, however, a college student must provide for more than half of their financial needs. This includes housing, tuition, food, clothing, transportation, and more.
How much of a tax deduction am I able to claim for each dependent who meets the requirements for a qualifying child or a qualifying relative? Share: Each dependency exemption you claim reduces your taxable income by $5,050.