Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit

The child tax credit is a credit that can reduce your taxes by as much as $1,000 per child. The additional child tax credit is a credit you may be able to take if you cannot receive the full benefit of the child tax credit.

The child tax credit is available for your qualifying children. A qualifying child for the purposes of this credit is a child who:

• Is you son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendent of any of them. For example, your grandchildren.
• Was under age 17 at the end of the year.
• Did not provide over half of his/her own support during the year.
• Lived with you for more than half the year.
• Was a U. S. citizen or resident.

A child who was born and died during the year is considered to have lived with you for the entire year. Temporary absences, such as for vacations or school count as time lived with you.

If the amount of the credit exceeds the amount of your tax, the credit will be reduced to the amount of your taxes. However, you may qualify for the additional child tax credit.

If your modified adjusted income is above the following limits, your credit will be reduced.
Married filing jointly limit is $110,000.
Single or head of household limit is $75,000.
Married filing separately limit is $55,000.

Modified adjusted gross income for this purpose is your adjusted gross income modified by the following:

• Any amount excluded as income from Puerto Rico
• Any amount on line 43 or 48 of the 1040 or line 18 of 1040-EZ
• Any amount on line 15 of Form 4563.

The child tax credit is entered on line 52 of the 1040 or line 33 of the 1040A.

The additional child tax credit is for certain taxpayers who get less than the full amount of the child tax credit. It is calculated by completing Form 8812 and entering the amount on line 68 of the 1040 or line 42 of the 1040A. The additional child tax credit is refundable, meaning that you can get back more than the amount that was withheld from your pay.