Child Tax Credit for Tax Year 2019
The Child Tax Credit or CTC is intended to help offset the tremendous costs of raising a child or children. It is a partially refundable tax credit if you had an earned income of at least $2,500 for 2019. If you qualify, the credit can be worth up to $2,000 per child for Tax Years 2018-2020 (in 2017 and earlier Tax Years, the credit amount was $1,000). In most cases, a tax credit is better than a tax deduction. A credit directly reduces your tax bill dollar-for-dollar, but a deduction only reduces your taxable income.
Current Year Tax Tip:
Tax Credits for Child Dependents
Our 2019 CHILDucator tax educator tool below will help you find out if your child or dependent qualifies you to claim the Child Tax Credit on your 2019 Tax Return. Just answer the "Yes" and "No" questions until the CHILDucator provides you with an answer!
It's easier on your current year tax return as the eFile.com Tax App will do all the work for you. Start and eFile your current year tax return on eFile.com. The eFile app will not only select the correct tax forms for you based on your answers, it will also calculate your Child Tax Credit amount for you. You can file your current year return online regardless of when you file your 2019 Return.
If your taxes owed are reduced to $0 and you still have some Child Tax Credit left over, you may be able to receive some or all of it as a tax refund by claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit - see below. Be aware that the maximum refundable portion of the credit is $1,400 (equal to 15% of earned income above $2,500). Therefore, if you tax is $0 and your total earned income is at least $2,500, you can claim the refundable part of the credit.
Additional Child Tax Credit
The Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) is a refundable tax credit that you may receive if your 2019 Child Tax Credit is greater than the total amount of income taxes you owe, as long as you had an earned income of at least $2,500. For 2019 Returns, the ACTC is worth $1,400.
Form 1040 (Schedule 8812), Additional Child Tax Credit is used to figure out if you qualify for the credit and calculate the amount of the credit you will receive. eFile.com will do all required math and generate the form for you when you prepare your current year return.
For 2019, the Child Tax Credit is at least partially refundable if you had an earned income of at least $2,500. Learn more about partially refundable tax credits.
Only one taxpayer (or married couple filing jointly) may claim any one child for the purposes of the 2019 Child Tax Credit and the Additional Child Tax Credit. If a child is claimed as a dependent on more than one tax return, the IRS will determine who gets the claim according to a set of tiebreaker rules.
Child Tax Credit Qualifications
You can claim the Child Tax Credit if your income is not too high (see the income limitations for the Child Tax Credit) and if you have a child or children who qualify you. Use the CHILDucator above to find out if your child qualifies you to claim the credit.
Dependents who can’t be claimed for the Child Tax Credit may still qualify you for the Credit for Other Dependents. This is a non-refundable tax credit of up to $500 per qualifying person. The qualifying dependent must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. You can use the 2019 DEPENDucator tool to see if your dependent qualifies for this credit.
Once you have determined if you can claim the Child Tax Credit, use the free 2019 Tax Calculator or "TAXstimator" to calculate and estimate your tax refund (or taxes owed) for the 2019 Tax Year. Then, use the 2019 IRS Tax Forms and complete them online before you mail them in. Find the 2019 State Tax Forms.
Find other resources for back taxes for 2019 and other previous years.
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