Child Tax Credit: How to Check and Claim the Credit

You claim the Child Tax Credit on a federal tax return, using the qualifying-child information and Schedule 8812. It is not a separate application for a monthly government payment. A child's age, relationship, residence, support, identification, and other tax rules determine whether the credit is available.

For tax year 2025, generally filed in 2026, the maximum Child Tax Credit is $2,200 per qualifying child. The refundable portion, called the Additional Child Tax Credit, can be up to $1,700 under its separate calculation. Those amounts are not added together into a $3,900 payment.

Separate tax reduction from a refundable credit

The IRS Child Tax Credit page distinguishes three related credits. The Child Tax Credit, or CTC, reduces qualifying federal tax liability. The Additional Child Tax Credit, or ACTC, is the potentially refundable portion for eligible taxpayers. The Credit for Other Dependents, or ODC, is a separate nonrefundable credit for certain dependents who do not qualify for CTC.

“Refundable” means the applicable credit can produce a refund beyond the amount needed to reduce the covered tax liability to zero. It does not mean every family receives the maximum. ACTC generally depends on earned income above $2,500 and the calculation in Schedule 8812; special calculation rules can apply.

A family with little or no earned income should therefore not budget around a full advertised refund solely because it has a child. Use the actual return and instructions to determine the result.

Check the child against the tax-year rules

For 2025, the IRS eligibility list generally requires the child to be under 17 at the end of the year, have a qualifying relationship to you, live with you for more than half the year, and not provide more than half of their own support. The child must be claimed as a dependent and meet the citizenship or residency and joint-return conditions.

A qualifying relationship can include a grandchild, certain siblings, or an eligible foster child, not only a biological son or daughter. But providing care or paying expenses does not automatically satisfy every test.

Temporary absences, births during the year, separated parents, and other circumstances can involve special rules. If the child lived in multiple households, write down the dates and gather the relevant records. Do not use a general description such as “shared custody” as a substitute for the tax tests.

A family's kinship assistance or child support arrangement does not itself decide who claims CTC. Benefits programs and federal tax returns can define the household differently.

The IRS says that you, or at least one spouse on a joint return, and each qualifying child need an employment-valid Social Security number issued before the return's due date, including extensions. The other spouse on a joint return still needs the identification required by the return and credit instructions.

Do not assume a child's ITIN, an individual taxpayer identification number, can replace the CTC's qualifying SSN requirement. Another dependent credit may have different identification rules. Check that separate credit rather than changing an identifier or claiming that the child meets a requirement they do not meet.

If immigration or tax-residency status is part of the question, obtain current guidance for the return involved. Identification is one condition, not a complete individual eligibility determination.

Use the correct year and income calculation

The 2025 amounts in this guide apply to the 2025 return, including a later-filed or amended return for that year. They should not be carried into another year without checking its forms and instructions.

For 2025, the credit begins to phase out above modified adjusted gross income of $200,000, or $400,000 on a joint return. Modified adjusted gross income is the tax measure used for this credit, not the balance of a savings account or a monthly paycheck. A partial credit may remain above the threshold, depending on the calculation.

Use the current Schedule 8812 instructions linked from the IRS credit page. Tax software should identify the year clearly. A result generated in 2026 can still be calculating 2025 taxes, so check the form heading instead of the date shown on your computer.

Prepare the dependent records and Schedule 8812

The IRS directs eligible filers to enter children and other dependents on Form 1040 and attach completed Schedule 8812. Gather the records that support the entries before submitting:

The child's legal name, identification number, and birth date.
Information supporting the relationship and where the child lived during the year.
Relevant support, custody, or dependency information when the situation is not straightforward.
Your income records and the details needed to calculate the refundable portion, if applicable.

Keep documentation with your tax records rather than uploading sensitive family material to an unrelated calculator. If someone else prepares the return, review the dependent entries and ask which part of the result is CTC, ACTC, or another credit.

If another person has already claimed the child, do not simply remove accurate information to obtain electronic acceptance. Review the IRS instructions for a disputed dependent claim or seek qualified assistance about the proper filing route.

Refund timing and other credits

The IRS cannot issue refunds that include EITC or ACTC before mid-February under the rule described on its credit page. That restriction applies to the whole refund, but it is not a guarantee of payment on a particular February date. A late-filed return also does not acquire a promised processing date from that rule.

Check the Earned Income Tax Credit separately, and use free tax preparation options if they fit your return. State child credits are separate again.

Start with the IRS eligibility tool and the instructions for your tax year. GovMoneyMap does not file returns or promise a credit or refund amount.