How to Claim the Child Tax Credit

You can be eligible to claim up to $1,000 for child tax credit if you have one or more children. A really good benefit for child tax credit is that it is not a tax deduction; therefore, you can reduce the amount of money that you owe to the government by up to a $1,000 per child.

1. Qualify for the tax benefit if you have children that are under the age of 17 at the end of the year and are a U.S. citizen. Children who qualify for the benefit can either be your own, a stepchild, adopted child, a grandchild or great grandchild. The dependent must have lived with your for at least half of the tax year and you must be the provider of over half of their overall financial support.


2. Determine if your income qualifies you for the tax year child credit. You can check on the IRS form to determine this information. If your income exceeds the limits, then your credit will be reduced by $50 for every $1,000 that you make over the income guidelines.


3. Determine if you qualify for additional child tax credit if you don’t qualify for the regular child tax credit. The additional tax credit is a refundable tax credit for those individuals who had a qualified child but did not receive the full amount of the child tax credit. This refundable tax credit is available even if no tax liability exists.


4. Fill out the 1040 or 1040A claim to receive your child tax credit. Make sure you do not use the 1040EZ claim, as this is a family tax benefit form. To fill out this form properly, you will need the provider's Social Security or EIN number (identification number), the dependent Social Security number, and the total amount paid for care during the tax year.