The Child Tax Credit (CTC) provides financial assistance to Millions of qualifying American households to cover the costs of food, housing, child care, and education. The IRS announced that for the 2025 tax year, the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit will be $1,700.
This is the amount that taxpayers can claim for normal annual tax returns that you will file in 2026 whereas for the 2024 tax year (returns you will file in early 2025), the refundable portion of the child tax credit will also be $1,700.
Child Tax Credit 2025
The child tax credit(CTC) is a nonrefundable tax credit that is normally provided to taxpayers with dependent children under 17 years of age. This credit can lessen the individual’s tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Taxpayers can also be eligible to get a partial refund from this credit.
To get the benefits taxpayers and their children must satisfy the eligibility criteria like the child’s age and relationship with the qualifying person. The refundable portion of the CTC known as Additional Child Tax Credit(ACTC) that you can get while having qualifying children will be $1,700 for 2025 which remains unchanged from 2024.
The refundable portion of CTC also known as the Additional Child Tax Credit that’s worth up to $1,700. The child tax credit of $2,000 for each child under the age of 17 is only provided to parents that have up to $400,000 in modified adjusted gross income if they are married and filing jointly and it must be under $200,000 if parents of qualifying children are single.
These figures also remain unchanged from 2024. It is important to note that the current terms and conditions of the ctc will expire at the end of the tax year 2025. For 2025, it is expected that the ctc will be up to $1,000 for each child.
According to Alex Durante who is an economist at the Tax Foundation the new changes in terms and conditions of 2025 CTC are standard adjustments for inflation so taxpayers will not face higher tax liabilities.
The terms will be designed according to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Durante also stated that “unfortunately in 2026 qualifying households should be expecting to see higher tax liabilities until Congress votes to increase these tax provisions that were implemented in 2017.
Is Trump Going to Increase Child Tax Credit in 2025?
After winning the 2024 presidential election by Donald Trump, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) has become a controversial topic of conversation between Democrats and Republicans. Everyone wants to know that will CTC increase in the upcoming year or not? Its future rests in the hands of Donald Trump, Current president of the United States.
First introduced in 1997, the credit provides a maximum of $2,000 per child, from which only $1,600 is refundable. It means that you can receive that amount even if you don’t owe that much in taxes.
According to Vance, the child tax credit will increase up to $5,000 per child in 2025. Some said that CTC will drop again in 2025 to $1,000 per child.
But keep in your mind that there haven’t been any official announcements about an increase in the CTC for the 2025 tax year. However, changes to tax credits can happen if changes occur in policies. It is advised to you to stay in touch with the IRS or consult with a tax professional to get the latest details.
Qualifying Requirements of Child Tax Credit 2025
It is crucial to satisfy the qualifying rules of child tax credit for all Interested persons who want to get ctc refund amount. The qualifying requirements of 2024-24 tax year are listed below.
- You need to be a permanent United States citizen, United States national, or United States resident alien.
- You need to have one or more qualifying children.
- The child must be under age 17 at the end of the year.
- The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister, or descendant (like a grandchild, niece, or nephew).
- Each qualifying child must have a valid Social Security number that is compulsory for employment in the United States.
- The child must provide no more than half of their own financial support during the qualifying year.
- To Qualify child must live with you for more than half the year.
- To qualify, a single individual’s annual income is not more than $200,000 and $400,000 when filing a joint tax return).
Steps to Claim Child Tax Credit in 2025
Steps to claim Child Tax Credit in 2025 are listed below.
- Visit the IRS official website at https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/child-tax-credit .
- Gather all necessary documents or details like Social Security numbers for you and your qualifying children, proofs, and any other relevant information.
- Locate Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and then complete it by providing all the necessary information about your qualifying children.
- After that, Fill out the Schedule 8812. This is a supporting form that can be used to calculate the Child Tax Credit and any additional credits you may be eligible for.
- Enter details about your income and the total number of qualifying children.
- After double-checking your entered details in the annual tax return and filling out Schedule 8812, submit them to the IRS electronically or by mail.
Earned Income Tax Credit 2025
The Earned Income Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit that is available to all low- to middle-income individuals. The amount you will get through EITC will be based on your filing status, the number of qualifying children in your household, and earned income. The earned income tax credit provides assistance to qualifying people and families to lessen the amount of tax they owe, while also potentially providing a refund.
In 2025, the maximum EITC amount will be $8,046 for qualifying taxpayers who have three or more qualifying children. For the tax year 2024, the maximum rate of earned income tax credit is $7,830.
The maximum available amount of EITC for qualifying taxpayers who have two qualifying children will be $7,152, up from $6,960 in 2024, and for one qualifying child will be $4,328 up from $4,213 in 2024 and for those who have no qualifying children, will get a maximum of $649, up from $632 in 2024.
To qualify for the earned income tax credit, individuals and families must satisfy the thresholds for adjusted gross income (AGI) which are also known as total income excluding any eligible deductions.
In 2025, the maximum adjusted gross income (AGI) to qualify for the EITC for married couples with three or more qualifying children will be $68,675, up from $66,819 in 2024 whereas for single, head of household and widowed filers with three or more children AGI will be $61,555, up from $59,899 in 2024.
Taxpayers also need to follow the investment income limit that they need to have in order to qualify for EITC. In 2025, the household threshold will go to $11,950, up from $11,600 in 2024. If investment income is above $11,950 in 2025, taxpayers will not be eligible for the earned income tax credit.
When and how will you expect to get your CTC refund in 2025?
The IRS cannot deliver a refund for a return that an individual claims for the additional child tax credit until mid-February. If a person files by paper, then they need to wait more than usual. The refundable portion of the CTC will be directly included in your tax refund within 21 days after electronically filed returns and up to eight weeks for paper filed returns.
The refundable portion of the CTC will be credited to all eligible individuals through a selected payout depositing method while submitting a tax return. It is advised to all of you who have an interest in child tax credit that during filing your tax return for 2024 (in 2025), choose direct or bank deposit payout delivery method as your refund method.
How Can You Check the Status of Your CTC Refund?
There are several ways to check the status of your child tax credit refunds. You can check the status of your tax refund online or through a mobile application. To get proper guidance read and follow the below listed points.
Electronically
- Go to the IRS “Where’s My Refund?”.
- Reach out to the check refund status button and Hit it.
- You’ll need to enter your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), your filing status, and the exact refund amount.
- After that hit the submit button to view the current status of your refunds.
Through Phone
- Call the IRS official refund Hotline at 1-800-829-1954. Provide them with all the necessary information that they asked from you. They will tell you about the current status of your refund.
Through Mobile App
- Download the IRS2Go app that is available on both iOS and Android mobiles. Through this application you can also check your refund status, make payments, and get tax tips.
- Locate the check status button from the available options and press it.
- Enter all the necessary details and then press the view status button.
