The child tax credit is a federal tax benefit that plays an important role in providing financial support for American taxpayers with children. People with kids under the age of 17 may be eligible to claim a tax credit of up to $2,000 per qualifying dependent. For 2023, $1,600 of the credit is potentially refundable.
We’ll cover who qualifies, how to claim it and how much you might receive per child.
Up to
For each child younger than
When income is less than
The child tax credit (CTC) is a partially refundable tax credit available to taxpayers with dependent children under the age of 17. The credit can reduce your tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis, potentially eliminating your tax bill altogether. Some taxpayers may also be eligible for a partial refund of the credit, officially called the “additional child tax credit."
To qualify, taxpayers and their children must meet certain eligibility criteria that take into account the child's age, as well as their relationship to the person claiming them.
Requirements: Who qualifies for the child tax credit?
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Age: Your child must have been under the age of 17 at the end of 2023.
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Relationship: The child you’re claiming must be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of those people (e.g., a grandchild, niece or nephew).
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Dependent status: You must be able to properly claim the child as a dependent. The child also cannot file a joint tax return, unless they file it to claim a refund of withheld income taxes or estimated taxes paid.
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Residency: The child you’re claiming must have lived with you for at least half the year (there are some exceptions to this rule).
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Financial support: You must have provided at least half of the child’s support during the last year. In other words, if your qualified child financially supported themselves for more than six months, they’re likely considered not qualified.
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Citizenship: Per the IRS, your child must be a "U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien," and must hold a valid Social Security number.
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Income: Parents or caregivers claiming the credit also typically can’t exceed certain income requirements. Depending on how much your income exceeds that threshold, the credit gets incrementally reduced until it is eliminated.
How to claim the 2023 child tax credit?
For tax year 2023, you can claim the child tax credit on the federal tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-SR) that you file by April 15, 2024, or by October 2024, with a tax extension
When to expect your child tax credit refund
Heads up early filers: By law, the IRS can't release a refund for a return claiming the child tax credit until mid-February, but generally speaking filers who use direct deposit as their refund method, e-file, and submit an error-free return, should see refunds hit their account within the normal timeframe for refund turnarounds — three weeks after submission.
Consequences of a child tax credit error:
An error on your tax form can mean delays on your refund or on the child tax credit part of your refund. In some cases, it can also mean the IRS could deny the entire credit.
If the IRS denies your CTC claim:
- You must pay back any CTC amount you’ve been paid in error, plus interest.
- You might need to file Form 8862, "Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance," before you can claim the CTC again.
- If the IRS determines that your claim for the credit is erroneous, you may be on the hook for a penalty of up to 20% of the credit amount claimed.