How To Get An Additional Child Tax Credit

Knowing how to get an Additional Child Tax Credit can really help with finances as tax season starts to roll around. Since this is a refundable tax credit, it is even possible to get a tax refund with it! Like many tax policies, the rules for who can get this credit and how much it is worth can be slightly opaque, but listed below is a simplified way to see if you’re eligible for the Additional Child Tax Credit, and how to go about claiming it if you are.

1. First, you must meet the basic eligibility requirements. If you already know you can claim the Child Tax Credit, you’re in luck, because the eligibility requirements are mostly the same. If you’re not sure, to qualify the child must meet certain criteria at the end of the current tax year. The child must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of the U.S., or a U.S. national and must be claimed as your dependent on your taxes. The child must be your daughter, son, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or a child of any of these relations (including grandchildren, nieces, and nephews). In addition, the child must be under the age of 17 and provide less than half of his own support. Finally, the child must have lived with you for more than half of the time during the year (school, juvenile detention, military service, vacations and medical care count as time lived with you).
2. Next, there are certain other requirements for filing the Additional Child Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit is a non-refundable credit, meaning that the credit against your taxes cannot go below zero. In general, the credit is one thousand dollars per qualifying child, but some people have tax liability so low that they are unable to claim all of the credit. In these circumstances, and if your income is below a certain level, you can file for the Additional Child Tax Credit. These income levels, divided by filing status, are as follows: if filing as single, head of household or qualifying widow(er), $75 thousand; if married, filing jointly, $110 thousand; if married, filing separately, $55 thousand.
3. If all of these qualifications are met, then you can apply for an Additional Child Tax Credit. The amount will vary, but is generally either fifteen percent of your earned income above three thousand dollars or the unclaimed amount of your Child Tax Credit, whichever is lower. The exact amount is calculated on Form 8812. To get the tax credit, you must use Form 1040, 1040A or 1040NR—1040EZ will not allow you to claim this credit.

Note that if you have at least three children but your income does not exceed three thousand dollars, you may be able to claim the amount of any paid Social Security taxes for this tax credit. However, if you use this method and are also claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit, be aware that the amount you’ll receive for the Additional Child Tax Credit will be the paid Social Security taxes less the Earned Income Tax Credit.