Refund

Jes84

why is the child tax credit not added to my refund when I am well below income guidelines. I’m getting back half what I did last year

TriciaD

Hello Jes84,

I can help clarify how the Child Tax Credit works and why your refund may be different this year.

The Child Tax Credit has two parts:

1. Non-refundable portion - This reduces your tax liability (the amount you owe) but won't increase your refund beyond bringing your tax to zero.

2. Additional Child Tax Credit (refundable portion) - This can be added to your refund, but it has specific requirements beyond just income limits. You generally need earned income above a certain threshold to qualify for the refundable portion.

Even if you're below the income guidelines, if your tax liability is low or zero to begin with, the non-refundable credit may have already done its job by reducing your tax. The refundable portion only applies in certain situations.

As for getting back half of what you did last year, several factors could contribute to this:
- Changes in your withholding or estimated tax payments
- Differences in income or deductions
- Changes in your eligibility for refundable credits like the Earned Income Credit

To see exactly how your Child Tax Credit is being calculated, you can review Form 8812 and the Child Tax Credit worksheets in your return. These will show the breakdown between the non-refundable and refundable portions.

If you would like information specific to your return, please sign into your FreeTaxUSA account and contact Customer Support.