I have no income; do I qualify to child tax credit

No.    All of the refundable child-related credits are based on having income from working.   If you have no income, you have no reason to file a tax return, and nothing to gain from doing so.

AND….If you have children but had  little or no income, it raises the question of how you and the children were supported.  There may be another tax-paying adult who can claim you and/or the children as dependents.  

No, you wouldn't be eligible to receive the Child Tax Credit if you had no income in 2024. The Child Tax Credit is made up of two parts - a nonrefundable portion and a refundable portion.

The nonrefundable portion can only reduce your tax liability down to zero. Without any income, you wouldn't have any tax liability so your Child Tax Credit would be $0.

The refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit is called the Additional Child Tax Credit and is up to $1,700 per qualifying child. However, you would have to have at least $2,500 in earned income (for example, wages) to qualify for this credit. Because you don't have any earned income, your Additional Child Tax Credit would also be $0.

For more information, see the following resources:

- What you need to know about the Child Tax Credit

- What is the Additional Child Tax Credit