Child Tax Credit 2026: check eligibility before you claim
Check the 2026 Child Tax Credit amount, income limits, child and SSN requirements, and the forms needed to claim the refundable portion.
By Refund Answers · Updated November 1, 2026
For tax year 2026, the federal Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child. Up to $1,700 per child may be refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Those are maximums, not a guaranteed refund. The IRS confirms both 2026 amounts in Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.05.
First, choose the right tax year
“Child Tax Credit 2026” can mean the return filed during 2026 or the credit for the 2026 tax year.
| If you mean… | Use these rules |
|---|---|
| A 2025 tax return filed in 2026 | 2025 eligibility, income and family circumstances; maximum credit $2,200, with up to $1,700 refundable per qualifying child |
| A 2026 tax return, generally filed in 2027 | 2026 eligibility, income and family circumstances; the same $2,200 and $1,700 maximums |
The IRS credit overview explains the 2025 amounts; the 2026 revenue procedure establishes the following year’s amounts. Use forms for the tax year, not merely the calendar year in which you file.
Check whether each child qualifies
Under current federal rules, a child generally must meet all these conditions:
- Age: Be under 17 at the end of the tax year. For a 2026 claim, check age on December 31, 2026—not the filing date.
- Relationship: Be your child, stepchild, eligible foster child, sibling, step- or half-sibling, or a descendant of one of them, such as a grandchild, niece or nephew. An adopted child is treated as your own child.
- Residence: Have lived with you for more than half the tax year, subject to exceptions.
- Support: Not have provided more than half of their own support. This is not a requirement that you personally paid more than half.
- Dependent status: Be claimed as a dependent on your return.
- Joint return: Not file a joint return, unless it is filed only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax payments.
- Citizenship or residency: Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien.
These tests are explained in the IRS Child Tax Credit guidance and the currently available 2025 Schedule 8812 instructions. The expanded credit rules were made permanent by Public Law 119-21, section 70104.
A baby born during the year can qualify. The residence test generally looks at whether your home was the child’s home for more than half the time the child was alive that year. Temporary absences, adoption and foster placement also have special rules in IRS Publication 501.
Check Social Security numbers before filing
Each qualifying child needs an SSN valid for employment, issued before the return’s due date, including extensions. You also need a qualifying SSN. On a joint return, only one spouse needs that qualifying SSN; the other must have an SSN or ITIN issued on or before the applicable due date. A child’s ITIN or adoption taxpayer identification number does not satisfy the CTC requirement. If the required SSN was issued too late, amending the return does not make the child eligible for that year’s CTC or ACTC. See the IRS identification-number rules.
If the child is 17 or older, or lacks the required SSN, check the Credit for Other Dependents instead. It is a separate, nonrefundable credit of up to $500, with its own requirements—not an automatic substitute. The IRS overview explains who qualifies.
Check income—and separate the credit from the refund
The credit begins to phase out when modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) exceeds:
- $400,000: Married filing jointly.
- $200,000: All other filing statuses.
The available credit is reduced by $50 for each $1,000, or fraction of $1,000, above the threshold. Schedule 8812 calculates MAGI and the reduction; don’t substitute your take-home pay. See the IRS Schedule 8812 form.
The nonrefundable CTC reduces federal income tax, but cannot reduce that liability below zero. If you cannot use all the credit, the refundable ACTC may help. Under the usual earned-income calculation, it is based on 15% of earned income above $2,500, limited by the unused credit and the per-child refundable cap. It is part of the $2,200 maximum, not another $1,700 on top. IRS Schedule 8812 applies these limits.
For example, with one qualifying child, $7,000 of earned income and no federal income tax liability, the usual ACTC calculation is ($7,000 − $2,500) × 15% = $675, assuming all other requirements are met. Simply having a qualifying child does not ensure the maximum refund.
Certain families with three or more qualifying children and bona fide Puerto Rico residents have an alternative calculation. Filers using Form 2555 cannot claim ACTC. Follow the Schedule 8812 instructions rather than relying only on the simplified formula.
How to claim it
- Gather and verify your information. Check each child’s name, SSN, birth date and relationship. Gather income records and keep records of residence and support that explain why the child qualifies.
- Resolve who can claim the child. If parents live apart or more than one person could claim the child, review the rules before submitting a return. The custodial parent is generally the parent with whom the child lived more nights. A qualifying release using Form 8332 may allow the noncustodial parent to claim the credit, but paying child support alone does not decide eligibility. See Publication 501’s separated-parent rules.
- Choose the final forms for your tax year. As of this update, the IRS’s Schedule 8812 page lists the 2025 revision. For a 2026 return, use the final 2026 forms and instructions when available—not a relabeled 2025 form.
- Enter eligible dependents on Form 1040 and complete Schedule 8812. Select the appropriate credit box for each dependent and attach the completed schedule. Schedule 8812 calculates the CTC, other-dependent credit and ACTC. You may need to file even if you otherwise have no filing requirement to receive a refundable credit. The IRS claim instructions explain the process.
Pause for help if another person disputes your right to claim the child, identification-number timing is uncertain, or the IRS previously denied or reduced one of these credits. A prior denial may require Form 8862, subject to exceptions, as explained in the Schedule 8812 instructions. A qualified tax preparer can help apply those rules to your circumstances.
What claiming ACTC means for refund timing
If you claim ACTC, the IRS cannot issue your refund before mid-February. That restriction applies to the entire refund, not just the ACTC portion, and does not promise payment on a particular day. See the IRS timing guidance.
Already filed? Use our federal refund-status checklist for tracking steps rather than treating the credit maximum as the amount the IRS must send.