Child Tax Credit Calculator

Legal basis: IRC §24 (child tax credit and additional child tax credit) · checked 2026-10-04 · Rates and limits change — verify the current figures.

The child tax credit under IRC Section 24 is a per-child credit that reduces your federal income tax dollar for dollar, and for many families part of it arrives as a refund even when the credit exceeds the tax you owe. Each qualifying child generates a credit amount set by statute, of which a portion is refundable through the additional child tax credit (ACTC), computed on Form 8812 and claimed as a refundable payment rather than a mere offset.

Two mechanics decide how much you actually receive. First, the phase-out: the credit is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 - or fraction of $1,000 - by which your modified adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold ($200,000 single, $400,000 married filing jointly in recent years; the thresholds are not indexed). The reduction applies to the total credit across all children, and once MAGI is high enough the credit disappears entirely. Second, the refundability split: the nonrefundable part can only erase tax you already owe, and the refundable ACTC portion is limited to a per-child refundable cap and, separately, to 15 percent of your earned income above a small floor, which is how the credit works for families with low or no tax liability.

A child qualifies only if they are your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, or a descendant of one of those; under age 17 at the end of the tax year; a US citizen, national, or resident alien with a Social Security number issued before the return's due date; and claimed as your dependent, having lived with you for more than half the year. The credit also counts against head-of-household and dependent thresholds elsewhere on the return, but this calculator focuses on the Section 24 arithmetic itself.

The per-child amount, the refundable cap, and the phase-out threshold have all been changed by recent legislation, so this calculator makes them inputs with illustrative defaults. Enter the number of qualifying children, your MAGI, your expected tax liability, and your earned income, and it will show the credit before and after the phase-out, the nonrefundable and refundable split, and the total benefit. Verify the current-year amounts in IRS Publication 972 or with a tax professional.

This calculator is an educational estimate, not tax advice. The per-child credit, the refundable cap, and the phase-out thresholds change with legislation and annual adjustment, and the figures used here must be verified for the current year. Confirm your eligibility and amounts with IRS Publication 972, a CPA, or a fiduciary adviser.