Child Tax Credit 2025: Income Limits You Need to Know

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) provides assistance to low-income families and benefits around 48 million families receive this financial support to cover expenses such as food, housing and education for their children.

Adults with qualifying dependents under the age of 17 are eligible for the CTC in the form of a non-refundable tax payment.

This non-refundable tax credit can reduce your tax bill dollar for dollar, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a few weeks ago the amount of the child tax credit for fiscal year 2025, which will apply to taxes filed in April 2026, which will have a maximum limit of $2,000, with a maximum refundable portion of $1,700.

The income limit for eligibility for the Child Tax Credit in 2025 will remain at $400,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly and $200,000 for all other filers.

What are the requirements for the CTC in 2025?

It can be claimed on the federal tax return by completing the standard Child Tax Credit Worksheet, which can be found in the instructions for Form 1040 or 1040-SR.

To be eligible, a number of requirements must be met, such as the child’s age, relationship to the applicant and income conditions.

• A qualifying child must have a Social Security Number issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return (including extensions).
• The qualifying child must be under the age of 17 at the end of the tax year.
• Meet relationship and residency tests for a uniform definition of qualifying child.
• Not providing more than half of their own support for the tax year.
• Have lived with you for more than half of the tax year, for exceptions for birth or death during the year, temporary absences, kidnapping or disappearance, or children of divorced or separated parents.
• Be claimed as a dependent on your return.
• Do not file a joint return for the year (or file a joint return only to claim a refund of withheld or estimated taxes).
• Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or U.S. resident alien
• You must have a Social Security Number issued by the Social Security Administration before the due date of your tax return (including extensions).