2024 Child Tax Credit
For 2024, the Child Tax Credit figures are $2,000 (Limit per child), $1,700 (Refundable per child), $400,000 (Income threshold, joint filers) and $200,000 (Income threshold).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Publication 17 (2024), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)Verified 2026-09-02
Compared with 2023
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limit per child | $2,000 | $2,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Refundable per child | $1,600 | $1,700 | +$100 (+6.3%) |
| Income threshold, joint filers | $400,000 | $400,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Income threshold | $200,000 | $200,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers claiming the Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit for 2024
What changed this year, and why
For 2024, the Child Tax Credit is up to $2,000 per qualifying child, with a refundable Additional Child Tax Credit of up to $1,700 per qualifying child. The refundable portion increased from $1,600 in 2023, while the overall $2,000 limit remained the same.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Child tax credit income headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Which SSN the credit requires
For the 2024 tax year, each qualifying child used to claim the Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit must have a Social Security Number that is valid for employment and issued before the due date of the return, including extensions. This requirement applies to both original returns and amended returns. The child's SSN must be obtained by the filing deadline - getting it later, even if the return is eventually amended, means the child cannot be used for the $2,000 credit or the $1,700 refundable portion. If a qualifying child lacks the required SSN but has another type of taxpayer identification number such as an ITIN or ATIN, the taxpayer may be able to claim the Credit for Other Dependents for that child instead. If a child was born and died in 2024 without an SSN, special documentation rules apply: the taxpayer must attach a copy of the birth certificate, death certificate, or hospital records showing the child was born alive. Families with multiple children must verify that each child they plan to use for credits has proper SSN documentation before filing.
If you have a qualifying child who does not have the required SSN, you can’t use the child to claim the CTC or ACTC on either your orig- inal or an amended 2024 return. The required SSN is one that is valid for employment and is issued before the due date of your 2024 return (including extensions).
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
The age test is 17, measured at year end
To qualify for the Child Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit in 2024, a child must be under age 17 at the end of 2024. This means the child cannot have reached their 17th birthday by December 31, 2024. The age test is applied at year-end, so a child who turns 17 even one day before January 1 of the following year fails the test. For example, a child who turned 17 on December 30, 2024 cannot be used to claim the $2,000 credit or the $1,700 refundable portion. The child must also be your dependent and meet the other conditions for qualifying as a dependent. An adopted child, including one lawfully placed for legal adoption, is always treated as your own child. If a child is age 17 or older at the end of 2024, you cannot claim the CTC or ACTC for that child, though you may be eligible for the Credit for Other Dependents instead.
Your child turned 17 on December 30, 2024, and is a citizen of the United States and claimed as a dependent on your return. You can’t use the child to claim the CTC or ACTC because the child was not under age 17 at the end of 2024.
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
Where the credit starts shrinking
The Child Tax Credit begins to phase out when your modified adjusted gross income exceeds certain thresholds based on your filing status. For married couples filing jointly, the phaseout starts when modified AGI exceeds $400,000. For all other filing statuses - including single, head of household, and married filing separately - the phaseout begins at $200,000. Your modified AGI for this purpose is the amount shown on line 3 of Schedule 8812. Once your income surpasses the applicable threshold, the nonrefundable portion of the credit is reduced, and if your income is high enough, the credit can be eliminated entirely. Taxpayers whose modified AGI is at or below the threshold for their filing status do not experience any reduction. You cannot take the credit at all if the amount computed is zero, meaning there is no tax to reduce. However, you may still be able to take the Additional Child Tax Credit (the refundable portion of up to $1,700) if you are claiming the CTC, even when the nonrefundable portion is reduced or unavailable.
2. Your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than the amount shown below for your filing status. • Married filing jointly –$400,000 • All other filing statuses –$200,000
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
Two years, or ten
If you erroneously claim the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, or Credit for Other Dependents and the IRS determines your error was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the rules, you will be banned from claiming any of these credits for 2 years, even if you would otherwise be eligible. If the error is determined to be due to fraud, the ban extends to 10 years. You may also face additional penalties. The improper claim ban applies to all three credits - the CTC, ACTC, and ODC - so a reckless or intentional error affects your ability to claim any of them during the disallowance period. The IRS provides an appeal process for taxpayers who disagree with the disallowance determination. This enforcement mechanism is designed to discourage careless or deliberate misrepresentation of eligibility for these valuable tax benefits.
If you erroneously claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC and it is later de- termined that your error was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the CTC, ACTC, or ODC rules, you will not be allowed to claim any of these credits for 2 years even if you are otherwise eligible to do so. If it is determined that your error was due to fraud, you will not be al- lowed to claim any of these credits for 10 years.
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
Why the refund is held
The additional child tax credit (ACTC) is the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Because refundable credits can produce a refund even when no tax is owed, Congress added a safeguard: the IRS is prohibited from issuing any refund before mid-February of the following year for a return that claims the ACTC. For the 2024 tax year, that means no refunds at all - not just the ACTC portion, but the entire refund - can be sent out before mid-February 2025. This hold applies to the whole return, so even taxpayers who are also due a refund from other credits or withholding must wait until the IRS has had time to review the return. The delay gives the IRS additional time to match information returns and verify the income and withholding amounts used to calculate the credit, which helps prevent fraudulent or erroneous claims. Taxpayers who file early and claim the ACTC should expect their refund to arrive later than it would otherwise, and should plan accordingly.
Delayed refund for returns claiming ACTC. The IRS can’t issue refunds before mid-February 2025 for returns that properly claim ACTC. This time frame applies to the entire refund, not just the por- tion associated with ACTC.
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
A dependent who fails the qualifying-child test can still bring a smaller credit
A dependent who does not meet the qualifying-child tests can still generate a smaller credit, called the Credit for Other Dependents. To qualify for this credit, the person must be claimed as a dependent on your return and must not be usable by you for either the $2,000 Child Tax Credit or its refundable portion. In addition, the dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. Unlike the qualifying child, the dependent does not need to meet the age or relationship tests of the CTC; instead, the ODC exists precisely for those who fall outside the qualifying-child definition but are still listed on the return. The ODC amount itself is much smaller than the full child credit.
The ODC is for individuals with a dependent who meets the following conditions.
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
The form that figures the credit, the ODC, and the additional credit together
Taxpayers claiming a qualifying child report the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents on Schedule 8812 (Form 1040). This single form calculates the CTC of $2,000 per child, the smaller credit for other dependents, and any refundable Additional Child Tax Credit of up to $1,700 per qualifying child all together. The form also applies the income phase-out, which begins when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000 for married couples filing jointly or $200,000 for every other filing status. Completing Schedule 8812 is how the IRS determines the net credit amount that flows back to the return.
Use Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) to figure your child tax credit (CTC), credit for other depend- ents (ODC), and additional child tax credit (ACTC).
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
Credit bigger than your tax bill turns into the additional child tax credit, not a lost amount
For 2024, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) is $2,000 per qualifying child, of which up to $1,700 per child can be refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). If the CTC and credit for other dependents together exceed the tax shown on line 18 of your return, the credits are reduced. When that tax amount is zero, no credit at all is available because there is no tax liability to offset. However, the portion of the CTC that cannot be used against tax does not simply disappear. Instead, it may become the ACTC, which is refundable even when no tax remains. The ACTC is available only to taxpayers claiming the CTC, not to those claiming only the credit for other dependents. The credit amounts also phase out once modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000 for joint filers or $200,000 for all other filing statuses.
If the amount is zero, you cannot take either credit because there is no tax to reduce. But you may be able to take the ACTC if you are claiming the CTC (you cannot take the ACTC if you are only claiming the ODC).
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
The same dependent cannot generate both the child tax credit and the credit for other dependents
Each dependent listed on the return can generate either the Child Tax Credit (CTC) or the Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), but never both. On Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR the taxpayer places a check in column (4) of the Dependents section next to each person claimed, and the IRS instructs that the CTC box and the ODC box cannot both be checked for the same individual. The CTC is $2,000 per qualifying child; the ODC is a smaller credit for dependents who do not meet the qualifying-child tests. Both credits are entered on Schedule 8812, where they are combined and then reduced if the taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000 for married filing jointly or $200,000 for all other filing statuses. Because only one credit may be claimed per person, the taxpayer must determine which credit each dependent qualifies for before completing the schedule.
Line 6 Add the number of boxes checked under “Credit for other dependents” in column (4) of the Dependents section on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR and enter the result on line 6. You can’t check both the child tax credit box and the credit for other dependents box for the same person.
2024 Instructions for Schedule 8812 (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Publication 17 (2024), Your Federal Income Tax (IRS)
- Limit per child
The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is $2,000 for each child who qualifies you for the CTC.
- Refundable per child
ACTC amount increased. The maximum amount of ACTC for each qualifying child in- creased to $1,700.
- Income threshold, joint filers
modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than the amounts shown below for your filing status. • Married filing jointly — $400,000. • All other filing statuses — $200,000.
- Income threshold
modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is more than the amounts shown below for your filing status. • Married filing jointly — $400,000. • All other filing statuses — $200,000.