The federal government has increased the Child Tax Credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill in July 2025. The families with qualifying children can learn everything about the new payment, income limits, eligibility, and other details here.
The Child Tax Credit allows households with dependent children to reduce their tax liability and get some relief. The credit has both a non-refundable and a refundable portion. The refundable portion, ACTC, allows taxpayers to get a refund along with the tax refund when CTC is above the tax liability.
According to reports, around 40 million families in the US claim the CTC, and over the years, it’s been helping families to afford raising children. The government has increased the credit amount after a long demand to $2,200 for each child.
Who can receive the CTC 2026?
If you are wondering whether you can claim the CTC in the 2026 tax season or not, you can check the following eligibility requirements:
- The child must be claimed as a dependent on your tax return and have a Social Security Number valid for employment that was issued before the respective tax year.
- The child must be related to you as a son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, adopted child, brother, sister, half-brother/sister, or descendant of the family.
- The child must be younger than you, that is, under the age of 17 by the end of the tax year.
- The child must be living with you for at least half a year in the 2025 tax year; however, there are exceptions, such as birth or death of a child, kidnapping of a child, military personnel living away, and others.
- The child must meet the residency rules, such as US national or resident and citizen.
What will be your CTC 2026 credit amount?
Under the OBBBA bill, the federal government has increased the CTC credit from $2000 to $2,200 in 2026 for each child. The refundable portion of the credit remains the same $1700 for each child. You will receive the refundable portion if your credit amount is above the taxes you will be paying to the IRS.
The credit amount can be reduced depending on your income in the tax year; hence, you should know the income limit depending on your filing status. If you are receiving the refundable portion, know that additional credit will come along with a tax refund, and you can track it through the Where’s My Refund tool.
What is the income limit and payment rules for CTC 2026?
The CTC credit amount can be reduced if you earn above the income limit. So if you are planning to claim it, you can check the following income limit:
- You will receive the full amount of the CTC credit if your annual income is not above $200,000 (single filers) or $400,000 (for joint filers).
- If your income limit is above the income threshold, you can expect your credit amount to decrease by $50 for every $1000 earned over the limit.
- So, if your income is above $240,000 for single filers or $440,000 for joint filers, your credit amount will be zero.
- If you are a high-income earner, you may be eligible for partial credit but not above the limit.
How to claim the CTC 2026?
If your child meets the CTC eligibility conditions and you wish to get the tax relief, you can claim the CTC in the 2025 tax year return in the following way:
- You must gather the Social Security number for yourself and the child, and other documents.
- You must claim the CTC credit through your federal tax return, either offline or e-filing, with attached IRS Form Schedule 8812, which will help you in calculating your credit amount.
- If you are e-filing the tax return, you can find that many of the tax software programs have a set of questions to simplify the process and claim the credit on the return.
- If you qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit, remember to select direct deposit as the payment method.
The CTC credit offers a tax break and helps you reduce your taxes; however, if you qualify for the ACTC, you can expect the refund to be delayed due to the PATH Act restriction, so track the credit status via the Where’s My Refund tool.
Disclaimer: CTC 2026 details may change. Refer to official updates for final information.