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TaxcreditsUnited States only

Child Tax Credit Calculator

Child tax credit with the phase-out. The reduction steps by fifty dollars per thousand of income above the threshold, and the step is applied to a rounded-up count, so a single dollar of extra income can cost fifty.

Also called: ctc calculator, child credit phase out.

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Total credit
$3,500.00

$3,500.00 after a phase-out of $500.00. The full credit would be $4,000.00, reduced by 50 dollars for every 1,000 of income above 200,000. Up to $3,400.00 is refundable, so it can exceed your tax liability.

Credit before phase-out
$4,000.00
Lost to the phase-out
$500.00
Refundable ceiling
$3,400.00
Tax after the credit
$20,500.00
Refundable amount
$0.00
On the phase-out
Income is 10000 above the threshold, which is 10 steps of 50 dollars.

Computed from the published rates for the tax year you selected, which is not necessarily the current year. A calculation, not tax advice, and it does not know anything about your circumstances beyond the figures entered.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

The credit is a flat amount per qualifying child plus a smaller amount per other dependent. Above the income threshold it falls by fifty dollars for each thousand or part thousand, which means the reduction steps rather than sliding: earning one dollar past a thousand boundary costs the full fifty. Part of the credit is refundable, so it can produce a refund beyond your tax liability, unlike a purely non-refundable credit.

the credit falls by 50 dollars per 1,000 of income above the threshold, rounded up
T
Threshold

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

two children with income above the threshold

Children under 17
2
Other dependents
0
Adjusted gross income
$210,000.00
Credit per qualifying child
$2,000.00
Credit per other dependent
$500.00
Phase-out begins at
$200,000.00
Refundable portion per child
$1,700.00
Tax liability before credits
$24,000.00

Total credit$3,500.00

10 steps of 50 dollars

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income below the threshold gets the full credit

Children under 17
2
Other dependents
0
Adjusted gross income
$150,000.00
Credit per qualifying child
$2,000.00
Credit per other dependent
$500.00
Phase-out begins at
$200,000.00
Refundable portion per child
$1,700.00
Tax liability before credits
$24,000.00

Total credit$4,000.00

boundary

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no children means no credit

Children under 17
0
Other dependents
0
Adjusted gross income
$210,000.00
Credit per qualifying child
$2,000.00
Credit per other dependent
$500.00
Phase-out begins at
$200,000.00
Refundable portion per child
$1,700.00
Tax liability before credits
$24,000.00

Total credit$0.00

degenerate case

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • All children meet the qualifying child tests, which include age, residency and support.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Credit amounts and thresholds are set by statute and have changed repeatedly.
  • The refundable portion is subject to an earned income test not modelled here.
  • Filing status changes the threshold.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why does a small raise cost me fifty dollars of credit?
Because the reduction steps per thousand of income and rounds up. Crossing a thousand boundary by any amount triggers the whole fifty dollar step.
What does refundable mean?
That part of the credit can be paid to you even if it exceeds your tax liability. A non-refundable credit can only reduce tax to zero.