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January 19, 2025
Question

Only made under $5k for the year but also had a child do I still file? Will I get the child tax credit?

  • January 19, 2025
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    1 reply

    January 19, 2025

    At that income level, you may not be required to file but you could be eligible for the Child Tax Credit.  Assuming that you meet all the requirements of the Child Tax Credit, you must have earned income of at least $2,500 to be eligible.

     

    To qualify, your child must meet all these requirements:

     

    • Be under age 17 at the end of the tax year
    • Is your child, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, sibling, step sibling, half sibling, or a descendant of any of them (for example, a grandchild, niece, or nephew)
    • Has their own Social Security Number
      • Children with ITINs don't qualify, but may instead be eligible for the $500 Credit for Other Dependents 
    • Lived with you for more than half the year
    • Did not support themselves (did not pay more than half their own expenses)
    • Is a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien
      • Residents of Canada or Mexico do not qualify

    If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2024, you do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit.  But you may qualify for the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

     

    On your 2024 tax return, you can claim the Child Tax Credit for each qualifying dependent child on your return. You can get up to $2,000 for each child under age 17 if your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than:

     

    • $400,000 if you're Married Filing Jointly or a Qualifying Surviving Spouse, or
    • $200,000 for all other filing statuses

     

    What is the Child Tax Credit?

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    Employee
    January 20, 2025

    Do not expect to get the full amount of the refundable additional child tax credit, since your income from working was low.   The calculations are done as follows:

     

     

     The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1700 per child. If the amount you earned was too low, you will not get the full $1700.  (If you earned less than $5000, your additional child tax credit will be less than $400 for one child)

     

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900923-what-is-the-child-tax-credit

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/additional-child-tax-credit/L6xFeMFEf_US_en_US?uid=lqnuygah

    https://www.irs.gov/help/ita/does-my-childdependent-qualify-for-the-child-tax-credit-or-the-credit-for-other-dependents

     

     

    And for the Earned Income Credit—

     

     

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/qualifications-earned-income-credit-eic-eitc/L7w4BFP32_US_en_US?uid=m62rmz09

     

    https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/individuals/earned-income-tax-credit/use-the-eitc-assistant

     

     

     

     

    Look at your 2024 Form 1040 to see the child-related credits you received

     

    PREVIEW 1040

    https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

     

    Child Tax Credit line 19

    Credit for Other Dependents line 19

    Earned Income Credit line 27

    Additional Child Tax Credit line 28

     

     

    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.  

     

    **Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**