You can claim the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child who has a Social Security number.
To be a qualifying child for the 2021 tax year, your dependent generally must:
- Be under age 18 at the end of the year
- Be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or a descendant of one of these (for example, a grandchild, niece or nephew)
- Provide no more than half of their own financial support during the year
- Have lived with you for more than half the year
- Be properly claimed as your dependent on your tax return
- Not file a joint return with their spouse for the tax year or file it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid
- Have been a US citizen, US national or US resident alien
- Hold a Social Security card valid for employment
You qualify for the full amount of the 2021 Child Tax Credit for each qualifying child if you meet all eligibility factors and your annual income is not more than:
- $150,000 if you are married and filing a joint return, or if you are filing as a qualifying widow or widower;
- $112,500 if you are filing as a head of household; or
- $75,000 if you are a single filer or are married and filing a separate return.
Parents and guardians with higher incomes may be eligible to claim a partial credit. The IRS has an Interactive Tax Assistant to check if you qualify.
American parents can get up to $3600 credit for each child under 6 and $3000 credit for each child 6-17 to reduce your US tax bill. If you do not owe US taxes, then $1,400 per child of this credit is refundable. You can claim the Child Tax Credit on Form 8812.
The Child Tax Credit can be claimed for up to 3 years after the filing due date so if you were unaware of the refundable Child Tax Credit, you can file amended returns for the prior years.
