Armed Forces' Tax Guide

Child Tax Credit

The child tax credit is a credit that can reduce your tax. If you have children, you may be able to take a child tax credit on your tax return of up to $500 for each of your qualifying children.

The child tax credit is not the same as the credit for child and dependent care expenses. See Publication 503 for more information on the credit for child and dependent care expenses.

Qualifying Child

A qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit must be all of the following.

1. Under age 17 at the end of 1999.
2. A citizen or resident of the United States.
3. Claimed as your dependent.
4. Your:
   1. Son or daughter,
   2. Stepson or stepdaughter,
   3. Adopted child,
   4. Grandchild, or
   5. Eligible foster child.

Adopted child. A child placed with you by an authorized placement agency for legal adoption is an adopted child even if the adoption is not final.

Grandchild. A grandchild is any descendant of your son, daughter, or adopted child and includes your great-grandchild, great-great-grandchild, etc.

Eligible foster child. An eligible foster child is any child you cared for as your own and who lived with you as a member of your household for the entire year.

Amount of credit. The maximum amount of credit that you can claim is $500 for each qualifying child.

Limits on the credit. Your credit may be limited depending on the amount of your tax liability and your modified adjusted gross income (AGI).

You must reduce your child tax credit if:

1. Your tax liability is less than the credit, or
2. Your modified AGI is above the amount shown below for your filing status.

• Married filing jointly-- $110,000
• Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)-- $75,000
• Married filing separately-- $55,000

Tax liability. Your tax liability is the amount on line 40 (Form 1040) or line 25 (Form 1040A). If this amount is zero, you cannot take this credit because there is no tax to reduce. But if you have three or more qualifying children, you may be able to take the additional child tax credit. See Additional child tax credit, later.

Modified AGI. For purposes of the child tax credit, your modified AGI is your AGI plus the following amounts that may apply to you.

• Any amount excluded from income because of the exclusion of income from Puerto Rico.
• Any amount on lines 43 and 48 of Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income.
• Any amount on line 18 of Form 2555-EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.
• Any amount on line 15 of Form 4563, Exclusion of Income for Bona Fide Residents of American Samoa.

If you do not have any of the above, modified AGI is the AGI amount on line 34 (Form 1040) or line 19 (Form 1040A).

Claiming the credit. To claim the child tax credit, you must file Form 1040 or Form 1040A. You must provide the name and identification number (usually a social security number) on your tax return for each qualifying child.

Answer the Questions in your form instructions for line 43 (Form 1040) or line 28 (Form 1040A) to find out which child tax credit worksheet you can use to compute the credit.

If you answer "Yes" to question 1, 2, or 4 in your Form 1040 instructions or question 1 or 3 in your Form 1040A instructions, you must complete the Child Tax Credit Worksheet in Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.

Additional child tax credit. This credit is for certain people who have three or more qualifying children, as defined earlier. The additional child tax credit may give you a refund even if you do not owe any tax.

How to claim the additional child tax credit. To claim the additional child tax credit, follow the steps below.

1. Make sure you figured the amount, if any, of your child tax credit. See Claiming the credit, earlier.
2. Use Form 8812, Additional Child Tax Credit, to see if you can take the additional child tax credit only if:
   1. You answered "Yes "on line 4 or line 5 of the Child Tax Credit Worksheet, and
   2. The amount on line 1 of your Child Tax Credit Worksheet is $1,500 or more.
3. If you have an additional child tax credit on line 9 of Form 8812, carry it to line 60 (Form 1040) or line 38 (Form 1040A).

More information. For more information on the child tax credit, see the instructions for Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

Information courtesy of United States Internal Revenue Service.

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