IRS Publication 972 was the worksheet-based guide for figuring the Child Tax Credit, and the IRS retired it after the 2020 tax year. The eligibility rules it explained still govern the credit, but every calculation now runs through Schedule 8812, which you attach to Form 1040 to claim the Child Tax Credit (CTC), the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC), and the Credit for Other Dependents (ODC).1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) If you see a reference to Publication 972 in an older guide or piece of IRS correspondence, treat it as historical.
Where the Calculation Lives Now
Starting with the 2021 tax year, the IRS folded the Publication 972 worksheets into the instructions for Schedule 8812.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) – Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents The schedule handles all three credits at once. You enter the number of qualifying children under 17, any other dependents, your earned income, and your filing status; the schedule figures the non-refundable portion that reduces your tax, then routes any leftover into the refundable ACTC calculation.1Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Schedule 8812 (Form 1040)
Who Qualifies as a Child for the CTC
The full Child Tax Credit turns on two overlapping sets of rules: the general qualifying-child tests that apply to any dependent, plus a CTC-specific age cutoff. Missing one of these is the most common reason the IRS denies the credit.3Internal Revenue Service. How to Avoid Child Tax Credit Errors
Your child must pass all five of these tests:
- Relationship: your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, sibling, stepsibling, or a descendant of any of these (a grandchild or niece, for example).
- Age: under 19 at year-end, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled.
- Residency: lived with you for more than half the year. Temporary absences for school, medical care, or military service still count as time in your home.
- Support: did not provide more than half of their own support.
- Joint return: did not file a joint return, unless it was filed only to claim a refund of withheld or estimated taxes.
On top of that, the CTC adds its own age rule: the child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 24 – Child Tax Credit A child who turns 17 on December 31 does not qualify that year. This catches many parents off guard, because a 17-year-old can still be your qualifying child for other purposes (head of household status, the Earned Income Credit) but not for the CTC.
The child must also have a valid Social Security number issued before the due date of the return, including extensions. A child with only an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number does not qualify for the CTC or ACTC.6Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit 4 You (and your spouse, if filing jointly) also need a valid SSN.3Internal Revenue Service. How to Avoid Child Tax Credit Errors
The Credit for Other Dependents
If someone you support doesn’t fit the CTC’s qualifying-child rules, they may still bring you the Credit for Other Dependents, worth up to $500 per dependent.7Internal Revenue Service. Understanding the Credit for Other Dependents It covers:
- Children aged 17 or older who are still your dependents
- Elderly parents or other qualifying relatives you support
- Non-relatives who live with you the full year and meet the dependency tests
Dependents claimed for the ODC can have either an SSN, an ITIN, or an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number.8Internal Revenue Service. Parents: Check Eligibility for the Credit for Other Dependents The ODC is non-refundable: it can reduce your tax to zero but won’t generate a refund on its own.
2026 Credit Amounts and Income Limits
For the 2026 tax year:
- Child Tax Credit: up to $2,200 per qualifying child
- Additional Child Tax Credit (refundable portion of the CTC): up to $1,700 per qualifying child
- Credit for Other Dependents: up to $500 per qualifying dependent, non-refundable
You get the full amounts if your modified adjusted gross income is at or below $200,000, or $400,000 on a joint return.9Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit Above those thresholds, your combined CTC and ODC shrink by $50 for every $1,000 (or fraction of $1,000) over the limit. A single parent with one qualifying child at $210,000 of MAGI loses $500 (fifty times ten), dropping the credit from $2,200 to $1,700. A family with two children starts with $4,400 of CTC, so a bigger income cushion sits above the threshold before the credit phases out entirely.
The Refundable Portion: How the ACTC Works
The Additional Child Tax Credit is for families whose CTC is larger than the tax they owe. If your tax bill is $1,000 and your CTC is $2,200, the credit wipes out the $1,000 in tax, and up to $1,700 per child of the leftover can come back to you as a refund.10Internal Revenue Service. Refundable Tax Credits
To get any ACTC refund, you need earned income of at least $2,500. Investment income, Social Security benefits, and other unearned income don’t count.9Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit The refundable amount equals 15% of your earned income above $2,500, capped at $1,700 per qualifying child. A parent earning $22,500 with two qualifying children would run the formula this way: $22,500 minus $2,500 is $20,000, and 15% of $20,000 is $3,000. Since the cap for two children is $3,400, the parent receives the full $3,000.
The formula means very low earned income produces a small refundable credit no matter how many children you have. Someone earning exactly $5,000 would get 15% of $2,500, or $375.
Divorced or Separated Parents
Only one parent can claim the CTC for a given child. The default is the custodial parent, meaning the parent the child lived with for the greater part of the year. If time was equal, the tiebreaker goes to the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.11Internal Revenue Service. Tie-Breaker Rule
A custodial parent can release the claim to the noncustodial parent using Form 8332. The noncustodial parent attaches the signed form and can then claim the CTC, ACTC, and ODC for that child.12Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 (Rev. December 2025) The release can cover one year, several specific years, or all future years, and it can be revoked, though the revocation only takes effect the tax year after you notify the other parent.
Form 8332 transfers only the dependency exemption and child-related credits. It does not transfer the Earned Income Credit, the child and dependent care credit, or head of household filing status; those stay with the custodial parent. Divorce decrees or separation agreements from 2009 onward cannot substitute for the form itself.12Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 (Rev. December 2025)
What Happens If the IRS Denies the Credit
The consequences of an incorrect claim reach beyond paying the money back. The IRS can bar you from claiming the CTC, ACTC, or ODC for two years if it finds your error was reckless or showed intentional disregard of the rules, and for ten years if it finds fraud.13Internal Revenue Service. What to Do If We Deny Your Claim for a Credit
After a disallowance period ends, you have to file Form 8862 the next time you claim any of these credits. Without it, the IRS automatically rejects the credit.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8862 Form 8862 only needs to be filed once after a disallowance, not every year afterward.
The straightforward way to avoid all of this is to check the basics before filing: each child’s SSN, that they were under 17 on December 31, and that no one else is claiming the same child.3Internal Revenue Service. How to Avoid Child Tax Credit Errors