Child Tax Credit

The Child Tax Credit reduces your US federal income tax for each qualifying child. According to the IRS, it is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child, and the 2026 Form W-4 uses $2,200 per child under 17 in Step 3.

The IRS sets these conditions:

• the child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year;
• you and each child need a Social Security number valid for employment, issued before the return’s due date;
• the full credit applies if income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 filing jointly); above that it shrinks;
• up to $1,700 per child can be refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit, if you have at least $2,500 of earned income.

Example (2026): a married couple filing jointly on $90,000 of wages with two children under 17 has $6,440 of federal tax before credits. The credit of $4,400 (2 × $2,200) brings it to $2,040.

You can claim the credit through withholding by entering it on your W-4. Add children in the US paycheck calculator to see the effect on each paycheck.