Child Tax Credit Calculator
Estimate your 2026 Child Tax Credit, including phase-out and refundable ACTC.
Your Child Tax Credit Calculator Result
Generated from the inputs below — a record you can revisit, or share with anyone helping you plan.
Your detailsInput Parameters
Older children, elderly parents, or other qualifying dependents -- eligible for the smaller $500 Credit for Other Dependents
Wages, salary, and self-employment income -- determines how much of the credit is refundable
From your Form 1040 -- caps the non-refundable portion of your credit
Paid even if you owe $0 in taxes
Reduces your tax liability dollar-for-dollar
MAGI is under the $200,000 threshold -- no phase-out applies
2 × $2,200 qualifying children + 0 × $500 other dependents
Analysis
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The Child Tax Credit Calculator estimates your 2025/2026 Child Tax Credit (CTC), including the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) and the phase-out for higher incomes. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 2025, permanently raised the credit to $2,200 per qualifying child.
Enter your number of qualifying children under 17, any other dependents, your filing status, MAGI, earned income, and your federal tax liability before credits. The calculator applies the income phase-out, then splits the result into the nonrefundable portion (limited by your tax liability) and the refundable ACTC portion (limited by your earned income).
Close to the phase-out threshold? See how AGI-reducing moves like 401(k) or HSA contributions could help on the Income Tax Calculator.
How the Credit Is Calculated
Phase-Out = $50 per $1,000 (or fraction) that MAGI exceeds $200,000 single / $400,000 MFJ
Credit After Phase-Out = max(0, Tentative Credit − Phase-Out)
Refundable ACTC = min($1,700 × Children, 15% × (Earned Income − $2,500))
Nonrefundable Portion = min(Remaining Credit, Tax Liability)
The Credit for Other Dependents ($500/dependent) is never refundable -- only the per-child CTC amount can become part of the Additional Child Tax Credit. This calculator is a planning estimate, not a substitute for IRS Schedule 8812, which has additional rules for split custody, multiple qualifying children with different ages, and edge cases around the earned income formula's alternate calculation method.
Frequently Asked Questions
Up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,700 refundable through the Additional Child Tax Credit. This was made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 2025.
The credit begins phasing out at $200,000 MAGI for single/head-of-household filers and $400,000 MAGI for married filing jointly, reduced $50 per $1,000 (or fraction) over the threshold.
The Child Tax Credit first reduces your tax liability dollar-for-dollar (nonrefundable). Any portion you can't use because your tax liability is too low may convert to the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit, capped at $1,700 per child and limited by your earned income.
You can still claim the nonrefundable portion against your tax liability, but the refundable ACTC requires earned income above $2,500 -- with $0 earned income, none of the credit is refundable.