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January 2, 2025
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Why am I not getting the child tax credit

  • January 2, 2025
  • 4 replies
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I have two dependents and made more than 2500 and I’m still not getting it. I want to know what I did wrong or what can I put down to receive it. 

    Best answer by Hal_Al

    I have the same issue. I think there is glicted in software desktop version.


    There is no glitch in the software.

    It's just complicated and expectations are sometimes unrealistic. Many people just don't get the full $2000 per child. It's easy to make mistakes. 

     

     There are 7 possible reasons; you aren’t getting the Child Tax credit (CTC). It’s usually #4:

    1. You’ve entered something wrong. In the personal Info section, for the dependent, you must select answers that indicate that he/she is your dependent child. If the child was born during the year, say he/she lived with you all year (note: TurboTax changed how this section is done two years ago, you may need to go thru the interview again or even delete your dependent and start over). If the child was with you for 6 months and 1 day, you need to mark that the child was with you 7 months. The CTC is not an automatic $2000, per child. It is income dependent. If you haven't entered your income yet, the CTC will not show.
    2. Your child may be  too old (over 16). You can still claim your child, as a dependent. What you can't claim is the Child tax credit. This comes as a big surprise to many parents the year their child turns 17. A child over age 16 no longer qualifies for the Child Tax credit (CTC). Although a child can still be a student dependent through age 23, and a qualifying child for EIC,  the Child Tax Credit expires the year they turn 17 and you no longer get the $2000 CTC. Instead you will get the non-refundable (up to) $500 Other Dependent Credit.
    3. Your income is too high. The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is phased out at higher incomes starting at $400,000 for joint filers  ($200K single). You lose $50 for each $1000 (rounding up) your income is over that threshold.   Previously it was $75,000 for single, head of household, and qualifying widow or widower filers; and $110,000 for joint filers.
    4. Your income is too low.  The child tax credit  (CTC) is limited to your tax liability. The CTC is a non-refundable credit and can only reduce your income tax to 0, It can not help you beyond eliminating your tax liability. But, if you have more than $2500 of earned income, some or all of it is usually given back to you thru the "Additional Child tax credit". That is, part of the CTC may be on line 28 of form 1040 (2021- 2024) instead of line 19. The  ACTC is calculated on form 8812 and  is basically 15% of your earned income over $2500. The ACTC is a maximum of $1700 (2024) ($1600 for 2023, $1500 for 2022) per child, not $2000.
    5. You are the custodial parent and the non-custodial parent is claiming the dependent this year. The CTC goes with the dependency, even though the custodial parent still gets the Earned Income Credit, Dependent care credit and Head of Household.
    6. Another possibility is that part of your tax due is not regular income tax, but is self-employment tax (FICA), early distribution penalty or another type of additional tax, for which the CTC cannot be used.
    7. During covid (2021), the child tax credit was expanded and easier to get. That was temporary and those relaxed benefit rules are no longer available.

    To get a 'second opinion' on-line direct from IRS, try https://www.irs.gov/uac/is-my-child-a-qualifying-child-for-the-child-tax-credit

    TT FAQ https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2625810-why-didn-t-i-get-the-child-tax-credit-or-why-is-it-less-than-last-year-s

    https://www.irs.gov/uac/Ten-Facts-about-the-Child-Tax-Credit

    4 replies

    January 2, 2025

    The refundable part--called additional child tax credit--is based on how much income you had from working.   Have you entered income from working at a W-2 job or from self-employment?

     

     

    Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2024 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

     

    Have you entered income from working in 2024?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

     

      The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1700 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1700.

     

     If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2024, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

     

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6xFeMFEf_US_en_US?uid=lqnuygah

    https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

     

     

    Look at your 2024 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

     

    PREVIEW 1040

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

     

    Child Tax Credit line 19

    Credit for Other Dependents line 19

    Earned Income Credit line 27

    Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

     

     

     

     

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
    January 31, 2025

    I just tried to file and our federal refund is normally between $3k - $3600;  but this year it’s only $86. And I noticed it shows the child tax credit line of $1000 instead of $4000 like it shows on my 2023 taxes. 

    January 31, 2025

    @New08 Did you have two kids who turned 17 in 2024?   If so, you lose the child tax credit for those children and get the $500 credit for other dependents instead.

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
    January 2, 2025

    Do you see an amount on line 28 of your 1040?  Your credit is limited because part is non refundable so if you have no tax liability you can’t use it. The rest is additional tax credit and that is based on multiplying your earned income over $2500 by 15 percent. 

    February 9, 2025

    I have the same issue.  There is different a glitch.  I put all my info into TaxAct and they are giving me the full child tax credit.  I research the information on the IRS.  I am filing jointly and our AGI was under $400,000. Our kids are 12 and 8.  However, Turbo Tax is only giving us $1,000.  There is a glitch!

    February 9, 2025

    If you'd like, we can look at your return and see exactly what you see to  help come to a resolution. The return will be scrubbed and won't include any of your personal details.

     

    If you're using TurboTax Online:

    Once you're logged in to your account,

    - on the left hand panel, click on Tax Tools and then choose Tools

    - on the pop up window, select Share my file with Agent

    - you'll see a message saying you'll give us a copy of your tax return. Your personal information will be changed so we can't see any private information.

    - click okay and you'll get another message with a token

     

    Please reply to this message with your token so that we can further assist you. Let us know what state is included in your return.

    February 9, 2025

    Deleted token ID.  No longer needed.  Resolved. 

    March 5, 2025

    This EXACT thing has been happening to me for 4 years. I have THREE dependents. It ALWAYS, every single year, marks my middle child wrong. I know for a fact I’m not doing anything incorrectly. I ALWAYS make sure I triple check the boxes I mark and they are always marked correctly. They always NO MATTER WHAT mark my son as other. I have never gotten the full amount for him. I never got the 3600 for him during Covid and I never got any stimulus checks for him. Turbo Tax DEFINITELY has a glitch. Idc what these bot accounts that work for TT say. I will not be using this bs anymore. I just had to amend 3 years worth of returns and I have to amend this years too when my refund comes. It’s so annoying. 

    March 5, 2025

    Make sure you have entered your child as a dependent in My Info, and that you have entered the child's Social Security number.    Careful— do not say that your child’s SSN is not valid for employment.  If your child was born in 2024 make sure you said he lived with you the whole year.  There is an oddly worded question that asks if the child paid over half their own support.  Say NO to that question.

     

    Have you entered income from working in 2024?  If not,  you will not receive an income tax refund based on having dependent children.

     

      The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000 per child; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1700.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  

     

    Take the amount you earned from working.   Subtract $2500.   Multiply the rest by 15%.  That is the additional child tax credit per child that you can get—- up to the maximum of $1700 per child.   If the amount you earned from working was low, you will not get the full $1700 per child.

     

     If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2024, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/child-tax-credit/L2lNhfGDl_US_en_US?uid=m68dfq2u

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6xFeMFEf_US_en_US?uid=lqnuygah

    https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

     

     

    And for the Earned Income Credit—-

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-earned-income-credit-eic-eitc/L7w4BFP32_US_en_US?uid=m62rmz09

     

    https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

     

    https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf

     

    Look at your 2024 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

     

    PREVIEW 1040

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-return-filing/L77WCkvnu_US_en_US?uid=m681fkhr

     

    Child Tax Credit line 19

    Credit for Other Dependents line 19

    Earned Income Credit line 27

    Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**