How the Child Tax Credit works in 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the credit from $2,000 to $2,200 per child starting with 2025 returns, made it permanent, and indexed it for inflation from 2026 in $100 steps, rounded down. For 2026 the amount stays at $2,200.
The credit works in two layers. The first is nonrefundable: it reduces your income tax after a few credits that come earlier in the order, such as the child care and education credits and the Saver’s Credit. If the credit is larger than the tax left to reduce, the unused part can come back as the Additional Child Tax Credit, a refundable payment of up to $1,700 per child for 2026 that requires at least $2,500 of earned income.
Dependents who don’t meet the child rules, such as a 17-year-old, a college student or a parent you support, may qualify for the separate $500 credit for other dependents. That credit is nonrefundable and shares the Child Tax Credit’s income phase-out. Both are tax credits, so they are worth the same at any tax bracket, unlike a deduction.
Who counts as a qualifying child
A child must pass every IRS test for the year you claim, and the tests are applied year by year, so a child can qualify one year and not the next. Two identification rules sit on top. The child needs a Social Security number valid for employment, issued before the return’s due date including extensions. And from 2025, you need a valid SSN too; on a joint return only one spouse must have one, while the other needs an SSN or an individual taxpayer identification number.
- Age: under 17 at the end of the tax year.
- Relationship: your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or a descendant of any of them.
- Residence: lived with you for more than half the year.
- Support: did not provide more than half of their own support.
- Dependent: claimed as a dependent on your return, and not filing a joint return of their own.
- Citizenship: a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien.
The refundable part: Additional Child Tax Credit
The refundable part matters most to families with little income tax. It is the smallest of three amounts: the credit left over after reducing your tax to zero, $1,700 for each qualifying child, or 15% of earned income above $2,500. Earned income means wages and net self-employment earnings, not pensions, investment income or Social Security.
That design ties the refund to work. A family with two children and $10,000 of wages can receive at most 15% of $7,500, or $1,125, well short of the $3,400 cap. It takes about $13,833 of earnings to reach the full $1,700 for one child, and about $25,167 for the full $3,400 for two. Families with three or more children may use a second formula, based on Social Security and Medicare taxes paid minus any earned income tax credit, if it gives a larger result.
How the phase-out works
The total credit, including any $500 credits for other dependents, falls by $50 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, of modified adjusted gross income above $400,000 on a joint return, or $200,000 for any other filing status, including head of household. MAGI here is AGI plus any excluded foreign earned income and certain U.S.-territory income.
Inside the band the phase-out adds about 5 points to your marginal tax rate. A couple with two children and $430,000 of MAGI loses 30 × $50, or $1,500, keeping $2,900 of their $4,400. Their credit is gone once MAGI passes $487,000; a single parent with one child loses it above $243,000. Because the test uses MAGI, pre-tax contributions made inside the band win back $50 of credit for each $1,000.
Child Tax Credit vs. other family tax breaks
The Child Tax Credit is the broadest family benefit, but it is one of several, and most of them stack. A working family can claim the Child Tax Credit, the child and dependent care credit and the earned income tax credit on the same return, and parents with employer benefits can also set aside pay in a dependent care FSA. The main overlap rule is on child care: money excluded through the FSA reduces the costs the care credit can count, so the same dollars can’t be used twice.
The credits also end at different ages. The Child Tax Credit stops in the year a child turns 17, and the care credit stops counting costs once the child reaches 13. College costs, often saved for in a 529 plan, arrive later still, so a family’s tax help and its biggest child costs rarely line up year by year.
Illustrative numbers
A married couple with two children and $30,000 of wages in 2026
- Unused credit
- The part of the Child Tax Credit left after it has reduced your income tax to zero
- Qualifying children
- Children under 17 who meet all the tests and have a valid Social Security number
- Earned income
- Wages, salary and net self-employment earnings for the year
Families with three or more qualifying children may use Social Security and Medicare taxes paid minus the earned income tax credit instead of the 15% figure, if larger.
Taxable income after the $32,200 standard deduction$0
Child Tax Credit before limits (2 × $2,200)$4,400
Credit used against income tax$0
Refundable cap (2 × $1,700)$3,400
15% × ($30,000 − $2,500)$4,125
Additional Child Tax Credit paid as a refund$3,400
The family receives $3,400, not $4,400, because only $1,700 per child is refundable. At $45,000 of wages they would owe $1,280 of income tax, use $1,280 of the credit against it and receive the other $3,120 as a refund, capturing the full $4,400. Both figures leave out the earned income tax credit the family would also claim.
At a glance
The Child Tax Credit and other federal family tax breaks, 2026
| Benefit | 2026 amount | Refundable? | Key test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Tax Credit | Up to $2,200 per child | Up to $1,700 per child | Child under 17 with a valid SSN |
| Credit for other dependents | $500 per dependent | No | Dependents who don’t qualify for the Child Tax Credit |
| Child and dependent care credit | 20%–50% of up to $3,000 of care costs ($6,000 for two or more) | No | Care for a child under 13 so you can work |
| Earned income tax credit | Up to $4,427 with one child, $7,316 with two, $8,231 with three or more | Yes | Low to moderate earned income |
| Dependent care FSA | Up to $7,500 of pay excluded per household | Not a credit | Employer plan; reduces costs the care credit can count |
Put it in your plan
Child Tax Credit in MoneyWhatIf
MoneyWhatIf models children through the costs they bring. Add a child with a birth year and divide spending into age-based stages, such as daycare, school and college, each with its own annual amount and change rule; an education stage can name a 529 or another account to pay for it. The Child Tax Credit itself is not priced in the federal tax estimate, so in the years before each child turns 17 a family that claims it can expect its actual federal bill to come in lower than the projection shows.
Common questions
Child Tax Credit FAQs
At what age does a child stop qualifying for the Child Tax Credit?
A child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year. In the year a child turns 17, the Child Tax Credit ends for that child, even if the birthday falls in December. If the child is still your dependent, you may be able to claim the $500 credit for other dependents instead, which is nonrefundable.
How do I claim the Child Tax Credit?
File Schedule 8812, Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents, with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. List each child in the return’s Dependents section with their Social Security number, and the schedule works out both the nonrefundable credit and any refundable Additional Child Tax Credit. There is no separate application, and under current law nothing is paid in advance.
When will I get a refund that includes the Additional Child Tax Credit?
Not before mid-February. By law, the IRS cannot issue refunds before then on returns that properly claim the Additional Child Tax Credit, and the delay covers the entire refund, not just the part from the credit. If you count on that refund for early-year bills, plan around the mid-February date.
Can I claim the Child Tax Credit without a Social Security number?
Since 2025, you need a valid Social Security number to claim the Child Tax Credit or its refundable part. On a joint return, one spouse must have a valid SSN and the other an SSN or ITIN. A child without a valid SSN can’t be used for the credit, but may still count for the $500 credit for other dependents if they have another taxpayer identification number.
Are monthly Child Tax Credit payments coming back?
Not under current law. Advance monthly payments were a one-time feature covering July through December 2021, and the law that created them bars payments for any period after December 31, 2021. Today the credit is claimed once a year on your tax return. Families who want the benefit spread through the year can lower their paycheck withholding instead.
Does contributing to a 401(k) help me keep the Child Tax Credit?
It can if your income is in the phase-out range. Pre-tax 401(k) deferrals lower MAGI, and each $1,000 of extra deferral inside the phase-out band restores $50 of credit. A couple $10,000 over the $400,000 threshold who defer another $10,000 pre-tax regain $500 of credit, in addition to the income tax saved on the deferral. Roth contributions don’t lower MAGI.