How Much Do You Get for Each Child on Taxes? The $2,200 Credit

For the 2026 tax year, the federal Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 for each qualifying child under age 17.¹ How much you actually get for each child on your taxes depends on how much tax you owe and how much you earn: the full $2,200 reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar, and if that wipes out your bill with credit to spare, up to $1,700 per child can come back to you as a refund through the Additional Child Tax Credit.²

The $2,200 Per Child, Broken Down

The credit has two pieces. The first $500 is non-refundable in every case: it can bring your federal income tax down to zero, but no further. The remaining $1,700 is potentially refundable, meaning the IRS will send it to you as cash even if you owe no tax, provided you meet the earned income rule.

To unlock any of the refundable portion, you need at least $2,500 in earned income for the year.² From there, the refundable amount is 15 percent of what you earned above $2,500, capped at $1,700 per child. A parent earning $12,500 has $10,000 above the floor, and 15 percent of that comes to $1,500 available as a refund per child. A parent earning enough to clear the cap gets the full $1,700 per child refunded if their tax liability is zero.

Which Children Count

Not every child in your household triggers the credit. The IRS uses a set of tests, and a child has to pass all of them:

Relationship: your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or a descendant of any of these, such as a grandchild or niece.²
Age: under 17 at the end of the tax year.
Residency: lived with you for more than half the year, with temporary absences for school, medical care, or vacation generally not counting against you.
Support: the child did not provide more than half of their own financial support during the year.
Citizenship: a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien.
Social Security Number: a valid SSN issued before the due date of your return, including extensions. A child with only an ITIN does not qualify.

The SSN rule is strict. If the card has not been issued by the filing deadline, the IRS denies the credit during processing even when every other test is met.²

How Income Shrinks the Amount

The full $2,200 per child is available to single filers, heads of household, and married-filing-separately taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income at or below $200,000. For married couples filing jointly, the ceiling is $400,000.¹ Above those thresholds, the total credit shrinks by $50 for every $1,000 of income over the limit.

A married couple earning $420,000 is $20,000 above the joint threshold. Twenty times $50 is a $1,000 reduction. If they have one child, their $2,200 credit falls to $1,200. If they have two children with a combined credit of $4,400, the same $1,000 reduction brings them to $3,400. The phase-out reduces your total credit rather than each child’s credit separately, so larger families feel the pinch later at a given income.

If Your Child Is 17 or Older

Once a child turns 17, they no longer qualify for the Child Tax Credit. They may, however, qualify you for the Credit for Other Dependents, worth up to $500. That credit also covers dependents ages 17 and 18, full-time students between 19 and 23, and other qualifying relatives such as an elderly parent living in your household.³ The same $200,000 and $400,000 phase-out thresholds apply.

This $500 is entirely non-refundable. It can knock your tax down to zero, and any leftover disappears. If you owe $300 and claim one qualifying dependent, you save $300; the remaining $200 of the credit is forfeited.

When Parents Are Divorced or Separated

Only one parent can claim a given child in any tax year. The credit is not split. By default, it goes to the parent the child lived with for more than half the year (the custodial parent). If time was exactly equal, the tiebreaker goes to the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.⁴

The custodial parent can release the claim to the non-custodial parent by signing IRS Form 8332, which the non-custodial parent then attaches to their return each year they claim the child.⁵ The release can cover one year, several specified years, or all future years, and it can be revoked later using Part III of the same form, effective the following tax year.

A divorce decree stating that the non-custodial parent gets to claim the child is not enough on its own. For agreements finalized after 2008, the IRS requires Form 8332 specifically; a judge’s order alone will not transfer the credit.⁵

Other Per-Child Tax Benefits That Can Add to Your Total

The $2,200 Child Tax Credit is not the only per-child benefit on a federal return. Depending on your situation, more may stack on top.

Child and Dependent Care Credit

If you pay for daycare, preschool, after-school programs, or similar care for a child under 13 so you can work or look for work, you can count up to $3,000 in qualifying expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more.⁶ The credit is 20 to 35 percent of those expenses, depending on income. At the top rate that is $1,050 for one child or $2,100 for two or more; at the bottom rate, $600 or $1,200. Both spouses on a joint return must have earned income, with narrow exceptions for full-time students or spouses unable to care for themselves. This credit is non-refundable.

Adoption Tax Credit

Families who adopt can claim a separate credit for qualified adoption expenses such as court costs, attorney fees, and adoption-related travel. For 2025 the maximum was $17,280 per child, with up to $5,000 refundable starting that year, and the figure adjusts annually for inflation.⁷ For 2025, phase-out ran from $259,190 to $299,190 in MAGI. Any non-refundable portion you cannot use in the current year carries forward for up to five years.

State Child Tax Credits

About 15 states offer their own child tax credit on top of the federal one. Amounts range from as little as $75 per child to more than $3,000, and some states set their credit as a percentage of the federal amount rather than a fixed dollar figure. Age limits, income thresholds, and refundability all vary. Your state tax agency’s website will confirm whether you qualify.

When the Refund Arrives

Federal law requires the IRS to hold any refund that includes the Additional Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Tax Credit until mid-February, no matter when you file. The delay gives the agency time to match returns against employer wage reports and screen out fraudulent claims.⁸ After the hold lifts, most electronically filed returns with direct deposit produce a refund within 21 days.⁹ You can check status through the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool once your return has been accepted.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 24 – Child Tax Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Understanding the Credit for Other Dependents
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IRS. Tie-Breaker Rule
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Internal Revenue Service. Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent – Form 8332
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 602, Child and Dependent Care Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
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Internal Revenue Service. Refunds
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Internal Revenue Service. Why It May Take Longer Than 21 Days for Some Taxpayers to Receive Their Federal Refund