2026 Child Tax Credit

Who it applies to

Rev. Proc. 2025-32 sets the 2026 figures for the credit under § 24 and says nothing about which children qualify or which filers can claim them; those conditions live in § 24 itself and in the form instructions, not in this document. What the revenue procedure does fix is the year and the ceiling. Section 4 of the revenue procedure applies to taxable years beginning in 2026, so the $2,200 maximum and the $1,700 refundable amount govern a return filed for a 2026 tax year rather than a payment or a refund received during 2026. The amounts are stated as the Code stood on October 9, 2025, and the revenue procedure warns that if amendments are enacted for 2025 or 2026 after that date, taxpayers should consult additional guidance to determine whether these adjustments remain applicable.

What changed this year, and why

For taxable years beginning in 2026 the maximum child tax credit allowed under § 24 is $2,200 for each qualifying child, and the amount used to determine how much of that credit may be refundable is $1,700. Both figures match the prior year, when the maximum was $2,200 and the refundable amount was $1,700, so a family claiming the credit sees no change in the ceiling. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states the 2026 amounts and also records why the credit did not lapse: the OBBBA amended § 24 to make the increased and expanded child tax credit permanent, and fixed the maximum at $2,200 for any taxable year beginning in 2025, an amount adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Common questions

How much is the child tax credit for 2026?

For taxable years beginning in 2026 the maximum amount of the credit allowed under § 24 is $2,200 for each qualifying child. That figure comes from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the revenue procedure that sets inflation-adjusted items for 2026. It is a ceiling on the credit rather than an amount every claimant receives, because how much of it you can actually use depends on the rules in § 24 and on what you report on your return.

How much of the 2026 child tax credit is refundable?

The amount used under § 24 to determine the part of the credit that may be refundable is $1,700 for taxable years beginning in 2026. That is a cap on the refundable portion, not a payment you are guaranteed. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 describes it precisely that way, as the amount used to determine the credit that may be refundable, so the rest of the calculation still turns on the statutory rules and on your own figures.

Did the child tax credit change from 2025 to 2026?

No. The maximum credit is $2,200 for each qualifying child in 2026, the same as the prior year, and the amount used to determine the refundable portion is $1,700, also the same as the prior year. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 is an inflation-adjustment document, and for this item the adjustment produced no movement. Filers who used the prior year figures when planning withholding or estimated payments will find nothing to revise on this line.

Is the expanded child tax credit permanent now?

Rev. Proc. 2025-32 records that the OBBBA amended § 24 to make the increased and expanded child tax credit permanent. Before that amendment the expansion had been written to run only through a fixed window of taxable years. The same legislation set the maximum at $2,200 for any taxable year beginning in 2025 and provided that the amount is adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.

Will the $2,200 child tax credit rise with inflation?

It is subject to inflation adjustment. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states that the $2,200 maximum set by the OBBBA is adjusted for inflation for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025. The inflation-adjusted items in the revenue procedure are generally determined by reference to § 1. For 2026 the published maximum is $2,200, so any adjustment for this year did not change the figure the statute set.

Which tax year do the 2026 child tax credit amounts apply to?

Taxable years beginning in 2026. The effective date section of Rev. Proc. 2025-32 says that section 4, the section carrying the 2026 adjusted items, applies to taxable years beginning in 2026. A handful of other items in that section are instead tied to transactions or events occurring in calendar year 2026, but the child tax credit is not among them, so the $2,200 and $1,700 figures attach to the tax year, not to the date of a payment.

What document sets the 2026 child tax credit amount?

Rev. Proc. 2025-32. It modifies Rev. Proc. 2024-40 to reflect the amendments the OBBBA made to the Internal Revenue Code, and it sets out inflation-adjusted items for 2026 for a long list of Code provisions, of which the child tax credit under § 24 is one. The amounts reflect the Code as in effect on October 9, 2025.

Could the 2026 child tax credit amount still change?

Rev. Proc. 2025-32 leaves that possibility open. It sets the amounts by reference to the Code as in effect on October 9, 2025, and states that to the extent amendments to the Code are enacted for 2025 or 2026 after that date, taxpayers should consult additional guidance to determine whether these adjustments remain applicable for 2026. Absent such an amendment, the $2,200 maximum and the $1,700 refundable amount stand.

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.