Child tax credit 2026: amount, income limits and who qualifies

The child tax credit for 2026 is $2,200 per child, the same as for 2025

The child tax credit for the 2026 tax year is $2,200 for each qualifying child under 17, and up to $1,700 of that per child can be paid to you as a refund. According to Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the IRS notice of 2026 inflation adjustments, the maximum credit under section 24(a) is $2,200 and the refundable amount is $1,700 for taxable years beginning in 2026. You claim the 2026 credit on the return you file in 2027.

The 2025 figures are identical. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed on 4 July 2025, set the maximum at $2,200 for 2025 and made the credit permanent, with the $2,200 indexed for inflation from 2026. Inflation was not yet enough to lift it above $2,200 for 2026. Before the Act, the credit was $2,000 per child: the 2024 Schedule 8812 multiplies each child by $2,000, and the 2025 form by $2,200.

The IRS has not yet published 2027 figures. They are usually published in a revenue procedure in the autumn before the tax year starts.

The credit comes off your federal income tax, so it changes what you owe or get back rather than your paycheck, unless you tell your employer about it on Form W-4. Check your federal tax and take-home pay with the US paycheck calculator before you work through the examples below.

Who qualifies: a child under 17 with a Social Security number

A child qualifies for the child tax credit if they are under 17 at the end of the tax year, are your dependent, and have a Social Security number (SSN) valid for employment issued by the due date of your return. According to the IRS child tax credit page, the child must also:

• be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of one of them, such as a grandchild, niece or nephew;
• have lived with you for more than half the year;
• not have provided more than half of their own support;
• not file a joint return for the year, unless only to claim back withheld or estimated tax;
• be a US citizen, US national or US resident alien.

The age test is strict. The Schedule 8812 instructions give the example of a child who turned 17 on 30 December 2025: that child does not count for 2025, because they were not under 17 at the end of the year. A child born on 31 December 2026 does count for the whole 2026 credit, provided they get an SSN by the due date of your return.

There is no limit on the number of children. Each qualifying child adds $2,200, so 4 children give a maximum of $8,800 before any phase-out.

The 2025 law added an SSN rule for parents as well as children

From the 2025 tax year, you must have a valid SSN yourself to claim the child tax credit or the additional child tax credit. According to the 2025 Instructions for Schedule 8812, on a joint return only one spouse needs a valid SSN; the other must have either an SSN or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) issued on or before the due date of the return.

The IRS defines a valid SSN for this purpose as one that is valid for employment and issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of the return, including extensions. The rules work out like this:

These rules apply to amended returns too: if the SSN was not issued by the due date of the 2025 return, you cannot add the credit later by amending. If a child was born and died in the same year without an SSN, the instructions let you attach a birth certificate, death certificate or hospital records showing the child was born alive.

The additional child tax credit refunds up to $1,700 per child

The additional child tax credit (ACTC) is the refundable part of the child tax credit, worth up to $1,700 per child for both 2025 and 2026. According to the IRS, the child tax credit itself is non-refundable, meaning it can only reduce your tax to zero; the ACTC then pays some or all of what is left over as a refund.

The ACTC depends on earned income. Schedule 8812 takes your earned income above $2,500 and multiplies it by 15%. Your ACTC is the smallest of three figures:

1. the part of the $2,200 per child that your tax bill was too small to use;
2. $1,700 times the number of qualifying children;
3. 15% of your earned income over $2,500.

So a parent with no earnings, or earnings of $2,500 or less, gets no ACTC, and one who owes no tax can never receive the full $2,200 per child: $500 of each child's credit is lost. The table shows how much earned income you need for the full $1,700 per child when your tax bill is zero.

Families with 3 or more qualifying children have a second route. If 15% of earned income over $2,500 falls short, Part II-B of Schedule 8812 lets you use the Social Security and Medicare tax withheld from your pay (plus half of any self-employment tax) minus your earned income tax credit, if that is larger. Earned income for the ACTC means wages, salaries, tips and net self-employment earnings; nontaxable combat pay also counts, according to the Schedule 8812 earned income chart.

How the child tax credit phases out above $200,000 or $400,000

The child tax credit falls by $50 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) that your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is above $200,000, or $400,000 if you are married filing jointly. According to Schedule 8812, the $200,000 threshold covers every other filing status, including single, head of household and married filing separately.

The reduction is rounded up. Line 10 of Schedule 8812 tells you to take any excess that is not a multiple of $1,000 up to the next multiple: $425 over the threshold counts as $1,000 and costs $50; $1,025 over counts as $2,000 and costs $100. For most people MAGI is simply the adjusted gross income on Form 1040 line 11a, plus any excluded foreign or Puerto Rico income.

The same reduction applies to the combined child tax credit and $500 credit for other dependents, so the credit disappears at a point that depends on how many children you claim:

These thresholds were the same for 2024, 2025 and 2026. The phase-out uses income, not earned income, so a large capital gain or bonus in one year can cut the credit for that year only. The federal tax brackets guide shows where that income is taxed.

Worked example 1: married couple, 2 children, $60,000

A married couple filing jointly with 2 children under 17 and $60,000 of wages gets the full $4,400 for 2026: $2,840 wipes out their income tax and $1,560 comes back as a refund. The working below follows Schedule 8812 line by line, using the 2026 standard deduction and tax rates from Rev. Proc. 2025-32. It assumes no pre-tax deductions and no other credits.

At this income the couple is also under the 2026 earned income tax credit limit of $65,899 for 2 children, so they may get a small EITC on top. The earned income tax credit guide shows how to work that out.

Worked example 2: single parent, 1 child, $15,000

A single parent with 1 child and $15,000 of wages owes no income tax, so the whole benefit comes from the refundable part: $1,700, and the other $500 of the $2,200 is lost. A single parent who pays more than half the cost of keeping up a home for the child would normally file as head of household, with a 2026 standard deduction of $24,150; filing as single, the $16,100 deduction also brings taxable income to zero, so the result is the same.

If the same parent earned $10,000, line 20 would be 15% of $7,500, or $1,125, and that would be the ACTC. At $15,000 the parent is also on the plateau of the earned income tax credit for one child, worth $4,427 for 2026 according to Rev. Proc. 2025-32, so the refund could be about $6,127 plus any federal tax withheld.

Worked example 3: married couple, 2 children, $430,000

A married couple filing jointly with 2 children and MAGI of $430,000 gets a child tax credit of $2,900, because income above $400,000 takes $1,500 off the $4,400 maximum.

At $430,500 of MAGI the excess of $30,500 rounds up to $31,000, and the credit falls to $2,850. For this family the credit reaches zero once MAGI is above $487,000. None of it is refundable in practice, because a household at this income owes more tax than the credit.

Why your child tax credit is $500, lower than expected or zero

A child tax credit of only $500 per child almost always means the IRS moved that child to the credit for other dependents (ODC). According to the IRS, the ODC is a non-refundable credit of up to $500 for each dependent who does not qualify for the child tax credit, and it uses the same $200,000 and $400,000 phase-out. The common reasons for a smaller credit are:

• The child turned 17 during the year. A 17 or 18 year old dependent, or a college student you support, counts for the $500 ODC instead.
• The child has an ITIN or ATIN, not an SSN. That child moves to the $500 ODC.
• You, or both spouses, have no valid SSN. From 2025 no child tax credit or ACTC is allowed; the ODC may still be.
• Your tax bill was small and your earnings low. The ACTC is limited to 15% of earned income over $2,500, and never more than $1,700 per child, so a family owing no tax loses at least $500 per child.
• Your MAGI is above $200,000 or $400,000. The credit falls by $50 per $1,000.
• Someone else claimed the child. Only one person can claim a child; a second claim is usually rejected or reviewed.
• Your credit was denied before. If a child tax credit was reduced or denied for any reason other than a maths or clerical error, the Schedule 8812 instructions say you must attach Form 8862 to claim it again.

The ODC can never be refunded, and it cannot be claimed for yourself or your spouse, or for anyone who is not a US citizen, US national or US resident alien.

Divorced or separated parents: who claims the child

The child tax credit normally goes to the custodial parent, the one the child lived with for the greater number of nights in the year; if the nights are equal, it is the parent with the higher AGI. According to IRS Publication 501, the custodial parent can let the other parent claim the child tax credit by signing Form 8332, or a similar statement, which the noncustodial parent attaches to their return.

The release has limits. It cannot depend on conditions such as child support being paid, and it does not move the earned income tax credit, which stays with the custodial parent or another eligible person. For decrees or agreements that took effect after 2008, attaching pages from the decree is not enough; the custodial parent must sign Form 8332 or a statement whose only purpose is the release.

Only one parent can claim a particular child in a year, so the credit for that child cannot be split. The parent who claims it uses their own MAGI for the phase-out.

When the money arrives: no monthly payments, and ACTC refunds wait until mid-February

There are no monthly child tax credit payments in 2025 or 2026. The credit is paid once, through your tax return: it lowers the tax you owe, and any ACTC is added to your refund. Advance monthly payments were a one-off for 2021 under the American Rescue Plan, according to the IRS page on advance payments in 2021. No federal monthly payments are scheduled for 2026.

If you claim the ACTC, your refund cannot arrive before mid-February. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act bars the IRS from issuing refunds that include the ACTC or the earned income tax credit before mid-February, and the hold covers your whole refund. According to the IRS refund timing page, most early filers who file online, choose direct deposit and have no problems can expect the refund by 2 March, and Where's My Refund should update by 21 February. The earned income tax credit guide explains the same hold for EITC filers.

The ACTC refund does not count against federal benefits. According to the Schedule 8812 instructions, it cannot be treated as income for programmes such as TANF, Medicaid, SSI and SNAP, or as a resource for at least 12 months after you receive it.

How to claim the credit, or get it in your paycheck through Form W-4

You claim the child tax credit on Form 1040 by ticking the "Child tax credit" box for each child in the Dependents section and attaching Schedule 8812. You can claim it even if you would not otherwise need to file, and a return is the only way to get the ACTC.

To get the benefit through the year instead of at filing time, use Step 3 of Form W-4. On the 2026 form, if your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less filing jointly), you multiply the number of qualifying children under 17 by $2,200 and other dependents by $500. Your employer then withholds less federal income tax each payday. The federal withholding guide explains how the W-4 steps change each paycheck.

Before you change your W-4, work out your pay with the US paycheck calculator and compare your likely tax bill with the credit. If the credit is larger than your tax, the W-4 can only bring federal income tax withholding down to zero; the refundable part still comes with your return.