Child Tax Credit 2026: $2,200 per Child, the Refundable $1,700 and the Income Limits

For tax year 2026, the Child Tax Credit is $2,200 for each qualifying child under 17, and up to $1,700 of it per child can be paid to you as a refund even if you owe no income tax. How much you get depends on your earnings and the tax you owe, and the credit shrinks only above $200,000 of income, or $400,000 for a married couple filing jointly (26 U.S.C. 24).

How much is the Child Tax Credit for 2026?

The Child Tax Credit for tax year 2026 is $2,200 for each qualifying child (Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.05, the IRS notice that sets each year’s tax figures). Public Law 119-21, the tax law of July 4, 2025, made the credit permanent, and the amount is adjusted for inflation after 2025.

Tax year 2026 is the year you earn the money. You claim the credit on the federal tax return you file in 2027.

The credit works in two parts. The first part comes off the income tax you owe. If the credit is more than your income tax, the second part, called the Additional Child Tax Credit, can pay you some of the rest as a refund: up to $1,700 per child. A credit that can be paid to you as a refund is called refundable. One that can only lower your tax is not.

Who is a qualifying child for the Child Tax Credit?

A qualifying child for this credit is under 17 at the end of the tax year, is your dependent as a qualifying child under the tax rules, lived with you for more than half the year, and is a US citizen, US national or US resident alien (26 U.S.C. 24(c)). The child must also have a Social Security number that meets the rules further down.

A child who is 17 by the end of the year does not count for this credit, but may bring the smaller credit for other dependents instead.

The calculator gives the Child Tax Credit for each child you list who is under 17.

How much of the Child Tax Credit is refundable?

Up to $1,700 per child can be paid to you as a refund, but only from earnings: the refundable part is 15% of your earned income (pay from work) above $2,500, up to that limit (26 U.S.C. 24(d)). The $2,500 starting point is in section 24(h)(6), which Public Law 119-21 made permanent. In other words, the refundable part grows by 15 cents for each dollar you earn above $2,500.

So a family with very low earnings gets less. If you earn $2,500 or less and owe no income tax, the Child Tax Credit gives you nothing. For a single parent with one child earning $6,000 a year, the credit is $525, all of it refundable.

Take a single parent with two children earning $20,000 a year. That family owes no income tax, so its whole credit has to come from the refundable part: $2,625, which is 15% of its earnings above $2,500. That is less than the $1,700 each that its two children could bring, because its earnings are not high enough.

When do you get the full Child Tax Credit?

You get the whole $2,200 per child when the income tax you owe and the refundable part add up to it. Since no more than $1,700 per child can be refunded, a family that owes little or no income tax cannot get all of it.

For a married couple with two children earning $50,000 a year, the credit is the full $4,400. Part of it wipes out the income tax the couple would have owed, and the other $2,620 is paid to them as a refund.

For a single parent with one child earning $28,000 a year, it is $2,085, not the full $2,200. The credit wiped out the small income tax that parent owed, and the refundable part stopped at the $1,700 limit, so the rest of the credit could not be used.

How does the Child Tax Credit work with three or more children?

With three or more qualifying children, the refundable part can also be worked out a second way, and you get whichever way gives more (26 U.S.C. 24(d)(1)(B)(ii)). The second way is the Social Security and Medicare taxes taken from your pay, plus half of any self-employment tax, minus your EITC. Because the EITC is taken off, this way helps mainly families who get little or no EITC. The limit of $1,700 per child still applies either way.

The calculator works out both ways and uses the larger. For a married couple with three children earning $42,000 a year, the credit is $6,080, of which $5,100 is refundable: the most three children can bring at $1,700 each. The couple owed only a little income tax, so the rest of the credit could not be used.

At what income does the Child Tax Credit shrink?

The Child Tax Credit shrinks when your modified adjusted gross income is over $200,000, or $400,000 for married couples filing jointly. It goes down by $50 for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, over that line (26 U.S.C. 24(b) and (h)(3), made permanent by Public Law 119-21). These lines are set in dollars in the law and are not adjusted for inflation.

Modified adjusted gross income starts from your adjusted gross income (AGI: the income on your tax return after a few adjustments, before the standard deduction). It adds back some income from abroad, or from Puerto Rico and certain US territories, that is left out of AGI. If you have none of that income, it is the same as your AGI.

For a married couple with two children earning $420,000 a year, the credit is $3,400 instead of the full amount for two children: the couple is over the $400,000 line, so the credit is cut by $50 for each $1,000 above it. Because it shrinks in small steps, the Child Tax Credit has no cliff at high incomes.

What is the credit for other dependents?

The credit for other dependents is $500 for each dependent who does not qualify for the Child Tax Credit, for example a child who is 17 or older, or a child without a Social Security number that meets the rules (26 U.S.C. 24(h)(4)). The dependent must be a US citizen, US national or US resident alien, and have a Social Security number, an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) or an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN).

This credit is not refundable: it can lower your income tax, but no part of it is paid to you as a refund. It shrinks at the same incomes as the Child Tax Credit.

The calculator takes it off your income tax for each child you list who is 17 or older and still your dependent: under 19, under 24 and a student, or disabled. It does not count other relatives you may support.

Do my children need Social Security numbers for the Child Tax Credit?

Yes. Under the rules in Public Law 119-21, section 70104, which apply from tax year 2025, each qualifying child must have a Social Security number on your return. You must have one too; on a joint return, at least one of you must.

The number must be issued by the due date of the return, including extensions, and it must be either issued to a US citizen or valid for work. An ITIN does not count, and neither does a Social Security number that is not valid for work.

A child who does not pass this test can still bring the $500 credit for other dependents, if the child has a Social Security number, an ITIN or an ATIN.

The calculator never asks for anyone’s Social Security number. It works the credit out as if every child has a valid one, so if a child does not, your real credit will be smaller, or nothing.

What is the Child and Dependent Care Credit?

The Child and Dependent Care Credit is a separate credit for part of what you pay for care while you work: care for a child under 13, or for a spouse or other dependent who cannot care for themselves and lived with you for more than half the year (IRS Topic 602).

It is not refundable. That means it can only lower the income tax you owe, down to zero; the IRS does not pay you any part of it that is more than your tax (IRS: Child and Dependent Care Credit information). A family that owes no income tax gets nothing from it, unlike the refundable parts of the EITC and the Child Tax Credit.

The credit counts up to $3,000 of care costs for one person, or $6,000 for two or more (26 U.S.C. 21(c)). From tax year 2026, Public Law 119-21 (section 70405) raised the share of those costs the credit is worth:

• 50% if your adjusted gross income is $15,000 or less;
• 1 percentage point less for each $2,000, or part of $2,000, of income over $15,000, until it reaches 35%;
• 35% from there up to $75,000 of income, or $150,000 on a joint return;
• then 1 point less again for each $2,000 over $75,000, or each $4,000 over $150,000 on a joint return, down to 20%.

So the most the credit can be is $1,500 for one person in care, or $3,000 for two or more. On a joint return, the costs it counts cannot be more than the earnings of the spouse who earns less; a spouse who is a full-time student or cannot care for themselves is treated as earning $250 a month, or $500 with two or more people in care (26 U.S.C. 21(d)).

The costs it counts are also reduced by any dependent care benefits your employer gives you tax-free. From 2026, an employer can give up to $7,500 of those benefits a year, or $3,750 if you are married filing separately (Public Law 119-21, section 70404). Married people who file separately generally cannot take the credit.

The calculator does not include this credit. If you pay for care and owe income tax, your tax may be lower than the calculator shows.

When is the Child Tax Credit paid?

The Child Tax Credit comes once a year, when you file your federal tax return for the year. The part that lowers your tax shows up as less tax to pay, and the refundable part comes as part of your refund. To get the refundable part, you have to file a return, even if your income is low.

The calculator spreads the refundable part over 12 months only so you can set it beside monthly benefits like SNAP. You do not get it month by month.

What will the Child Tax Credit be for 2027?

The 2027 amounts are not out yet. As of October 31, 2026, the IRS had not published its list of tax figures for tax year 2027 (it would appear in the IRS newsroom). The $2,200 per child and the $1,700 refundable limit are adjusted for inflation, so they may change.

Other parts are fixed in the law and stay the same: the $200,000 and $400,000 lines where the credit shrinks, the $2,500 starting point and 15% rate for the refundable part, and the $500 credit for other dependents. We add the 2027 amounts when the IRS publishes them.

Who decides how much Child Tax Credit I get?

The IRS decides, when it handles your tax return. The calculator gives an estimate from the published rules and the numbers you type; it is not a decision, and nothing on this page is tax advice. The IRS’s Child Tax Credit page is the place to check your own case.

Figures checked October 31, 2026.

Questions people ask

How much is the Child Tax Credit per child in 2026?

$2,200 for each qualifying child under 17, for tax year 2026. Up to $1,700 of it per child is refundable.

Can I get the Child Tax Credit with no income?

No. With no earnings and no income tax owed, the credit pays nothing. The refundable part starts only with earnings above $2,500, at 15 cents for each dollar.

Is the Child Tax Credit refundable?

Partly. It first lowers your income tax. What is left can be paid to you as a refund, up to $1,700 per child and up to 15% of your earnings above $2,500.

Does a 17-year-old count for the Child Tax Credit?

No. The child must be under 17 at the end of the year. A 17-year-old who is your dependent may bring the $500 credit for other dependents instead.

What is the income limit for the Child Tax Credit?

The credit starts to shrink at $200,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or $400,000 for married couples filing jointly, and goes down by $50 for each $1,000 over. The more children you have, the higher the income where it reaches zero.

Can I get the Child Tax Credit and the EITC?

Yes. They are separate credits, and a working family can get both on the same return. The EITC page explains that one, and the calculator works out both.

Is the child care credit the same as the Child Tax Credit?

No. The Child Tax Credit is for having a child. The Child and Dependent Care Credit is for part of what you pay for care while you work, and it is not refundable.

Updated November 1, 2026