Not receiving the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is usually due to income being too high or too low, the child being over age 16, or filing errors. For the 2023 tax year, the child must be under 17, and you must have at least $2,500 of earned income to qualify for the refundable portion (Additional Child Tax Credit).
In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working. The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1700 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1700.
For the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), the full amount starts phasing out when Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) exceeds $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for married couples filing jointly, with the credit reduced by $50 for every $1,000 over these thresholds, though some states offer separate CTCs with different income limits. To claim the federal CTC, you generally need a qualifying child with a Social Security Number and must meet other dependency rules, and you may get a partial credit even with higher income.
If you haven't received your child tax credit check, it could be late. The monthly child tax credit payments have come to an end, but more money is coming next year.
I have two children that are my dependents and I am not getting the child tax credit. why?
The nonrefundable Child Tax Credit will lower your tax liability down to $0. So you must have a tax liability in order to claim it. If you did not have at least a $4,000 tax liability, you would not be eligible for the entire credit, but you could be eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit.
If you have not received your payment
If you don't receive your CCB payment on the expected payment date, before you contact us, you can: Check the status of your payment in your CRA account. Make sure your personal information is up to date. Check other reasons for stopped or changed payments.
Your child tax credit is likely $500 instead of $2,000 because they either turned 17 during the tax year, making them eligible for the Other Dependent Credit, or you might have mistakenly checked a box in your tax software, like saying their SSN isn't valid for employment or that they paid over half their own support, which triggers the lower credit amount, according to TurboTax support, TurboTax support, TurboTax support, and TurboTax support https://ttlc.intuit.index.php/community/taxes/discussion/my-daughter-is-17-but-is-still-jr-in-high-school-why-do-i-only-get-500-for-her-and-not-the-full-2000/00/3423950.
Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number. Careful— do not say that your child's SSN is not valid for employment. If your child was born in 2025 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.
Why we hold your refund. By law, we can't issue EITC or ACTC refunds before mid-February. This includes your entire refund, not just the part that's related to the credit you claimed on your tax return. If you claim the EITC or ACTC, we may need more information from you about your return.
You must have earned income of at least $2,500 to be eligible for the ACTC. You qualify for the full amount of the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if you meet all eligibility factors and your annual income is not more than $200,000 ($400,000 if filing a joint return).
For the federal Child Tax Credit (CTC), the full amount starts phasing out when Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) exceeds $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for married couples filing jointly, with the credit reduced by $50 for every $1,000 over these thresholds, though some states offer separate CTCs with different income limits. To claim the federal CTC, you generally need a qualifying child with a Social Security Number and must meet other dependency rules, and you may get a partial credit even with higher income.
If you qualify for the EITC, you may also qualify for the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents, Child and Dependent Care Credit, and Education Credits.
To get the full Child Tax Credit (CTC) for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026), your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) must generally not exceed $200,000 if single/head of household/qualifying widow(er), or $400,000 if married filing jointly; above these thresholds, the credit starts to decrease, and for the refundable portion (Additional Child Tax Credit or ACTC), you need at least $2,500 in earned income.
Make sure your dependent meets the IRS requirements. Generally, the IRS requires that the child is under the age of 19 (or under 24 if a full-time student), lives with you for more than half the year, and does not provide more than half of their own financial support.
You are only eligible for the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit if you (and your spouse, if you are filing jointly) are employed, actively looking for full-time employment, or are enrolled in school full-time.
You might not get the full Child Tax Credit (CTC) due to income limits, your child's age, insufficient earned income, claiming errors (like wrong dependent info or another parent claiming the child), or because the temporary 2021 expansion rules aren't in effect, limiting the credit to your tax liability (part refundable as Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC)), requiring at least $2,500 earned income for ACTC.
In order to claim the EITC or CTC for a child, it is not enough that you are taking care of them. You must also be related to them, either by blood or marriage, or through legal adoption, foster care, or a custody order. To prove: Send copies of birth certificates, custody orders, or DNA tests.
It's not something you qualify for on its own — the ACTC only comes into play if you can't claim the full CTC because your tax bill isn't high enough. Think of it like this: The CTC reduces your tax bill. The ACTC gives you a refund of what's left over (up to a limit) if you meet the income requirements.
If your income is over the threshold, the child tax credit will begin to phase out or decrease at a rate of $50 for every $1,000 your income exceeds the limit. The maximum amount of the Child Tax Credit in 2025 is $2,200 per qualifying child under the age of 17.
If you haven't received yours yet, it can take up to 5 business days to arrive by mail or direct deposit. If you're eligible, please refer to your CCB notice in your CRA account for a breakdown of your payment. https://www.canada. ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e- services/cra-login-services.
To receive the credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses, the expenses had to have been paid for care to be provided so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) could work or look for work. If both spouses do not show "earned income" (W-2's, business income, etc.), you generally cannot claim the credit.
The Critical Worker Benefit is a joint federal-provincial program with $465 million available to recognize the hard work of critical workers during the pandemic.