Child tax credit

You do not need to work to claim the child tax credit, however with no income the credit would be $0 because you would owe no tax. To receive the Additional Child Tax credit you do need to have at least $2,500 of earned income (such as wages). Lack of prior year filings should not affect who files but if your partner has income and they are also their children you may want to consider having your partner claim them.

The following are the requirements for the credit:

To claim the Child Tax Credit for 2024 and earlier tax years, you must determine if your child is eligible. All of these seven qualifying tests have to be met:

1) Age test - For these tax years, a child must have been under age 17 (i.e., 16 years old or younger) at the end of the tax year for which you claim the credit.

2) Relationship test - The child must be your own child, a stepchild, or a foster child placed with you by a court or authorized agency. 

3) Support test - To qualify, the child cannot have provided more than half of his or her own financial support during the tax year.

4) Dependent test - You must claim the child as a dependent on your tax return.

5) Citizenship test - The child must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national or a U.S. resident alien. 

6) Residence test - The child must have lived with you for more than half of the tax year for which you claim the credit.

7) Family income test - The Child Tax Credit is reduced if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is above certain amounts, which are determined by your tax-filing status:

• For tax years 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2018 through 2020, the phaseout of the credit begins with $200,000 in income ($400,000 for married filing jointly).
• In 2017, the phase out threshold is $55,000 for married couples filing separately; $75,000 for single, head of household, and qualifying widow or widower filers; and $110,000 for married couples filing jointly. For each $1,000 of income above the threshold, the available child tax credit was reduced by $50.

If you have not worked all year and have no income you do not need to file a return unless you have a 1095A for Marketplace health ins.  

The child tax credit rules for 2021 tax returns were unique to tax year 2021; you could receive the CTC even if you did not have any income earned from working.

That will not be the case for tax year 2022 and forward.  The rules revert back to the requirement to have income earned from working in order to receive the refundable part of the CTC.   

And...without income earned from working you are not eligible for any other child-related credits like earned income credit or the childcare credit.