Child Tax Credit: Up to $2,200 Per Qualifying Child

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) reduces your federal tax by up to $2,200 for each qualifying child under age 17. For the 2025 tax year, up to $1,700 of the credit is refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit, meaning you can receive it as a refund even if you owe no tax.

Who Qualifies

A qualifying child must meet all of these tests:

• Age — Under 17 at the end of 2025
• Relationship — Your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or descendant of any of these
• Residency — Lived with you for more than half of 2025
• Support — Did not provide more than half of their own support
• SSN — Must have a valid Social Security number issued before the return due date

Income Phase-Outs

The credit begins to phase out at:

• $200,000 for Single, Head of Household, and Married Filing Separately
• $400,000 for Married Filing Jointly

The credit decreases by $50 for each $1,000 of income above these thresholds.

Other Dependent Credit

If your dependent doesn’t qualify for the CTC (for example, they’re 17 or older, or don’t have an SSN), you may still claim the $500 Credit for Other Dependents.

How to Claim

The Child Tax Credit is calculated on your federal return based on the dependent information you provide. File your return for free at MyFreeTaxReturn.com, and the system automatically determines your credit amount.