Additional Child Tax Credit
The Additional Child Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit for people who have a
qualifying child and did not receive the full amount of the Child
Tax Credit. Because this credit is refundable, it is possible to
get a refund even if you do not have any tax liability.
In order to receive the Additional Child Tax Credit, you first
must qualify for the Child Tax Credit. If the amount of
your Child Tax Credit is limited by your income tax liability,
you may be able to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit if your
earned income is less than the limits for the year. The limits
are:
- Married filing jointly - $110,000
- Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) -
$75,000
- Married filing separately - $55,000
The Additional Child Tax Credit is equal to the lesser of the
unallowed Child Tax Credit, or 15% of your earned income that is
more than $3,000. Tax-exempt combat pay counts as earned income for
calculating the Additional Child Tax Credit.
If your earned income is not more than $3,000 and you have three
or more qualifying children, you may be able to claim the
Additional Child Tax Credit up to the amount of Social Security
taxes that you paid for the year. If you are eligible
to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit, the maximum amount of
Additional Child Tax Credit under this method is the total amount
of Social Security taxes less the amount of the Earned Income
Credit for which you are eligible.
The amount of the Additional Child Tax Credit is determined on
Form 8812.
For more information see IRS
Publication 972.