Credits · Tax year 2026

Child Tax Credit Calculator: The 2026 Credit, Estimated

For tax year 2026 the child tax credit is $2,200 for each qualifying child under 17, and up to $1,700 of it per child can be refundable as the additional child tax credit. A dependent who is not a qualifying child can bring a $500 credit. The combined credit phases out from $200,000 of modified AGI, or $400,000 on a joint return, at $50 for each $1,000 or part of $1,000 over the start. Enter your figures and the calculator estimates the credit and its refundable ceiling.

Last reviewed: November 4, 2026.

Checked against IRS sources · Reviewed November 4, 2026

The child tax credit calculator

Your household Filing status Modified adjusted gross income estimate (dollars)

For most filers this is the same as adjusted gross income. The law adds back a few foreign income exclusions; the phaseout section below names them.

Qualifying children

Count a child only if the child was under 17 at the end of 2026, lived with you for more than half of the year, is your dependent, and has a Social Security number issued before the due date of your return. The full test is set out below the calculator.

Other dependents

Dependents who are not qualifying children: a child aged 17 or over, an older relative you support, or a child under 17 who does not have the required Social Security number.

Earned income (optional) Earned income for 2026 (dollars, optional)

Wages, salaries, tips, and net self-employment income, as the tax law counts earned income for this credit. It is used only to work out the refundable part. Leave it blank to see the refundable cap on its own.

Estimate only. This tool gives a general estimate based on the figures you entered and the published IRS rules cited on this page. It is not tax advice, it is not a tax return, and it cannot be relied on to avoid any tax penalty. Tax law and IRS guidance change. Confirm your figures against the current IRS instructions for the form you file, or ask a qualified tax professional.

Nothing you enter is sent anywhere. The calculation runs in your browser. This calculator never asks for a child's name, date of birth, or Social Security number.

a credit cuts the tax itself, not the income

The 2026 figures, in one table

The child tax credit and the credit for other dependents, tax year 2026
Per qualifying child	$2,200
Refundable part per child	Up to $1,700, as the additional child tax credit
Refundable formula	15 percent of earned income over $2,500
Per other dependent	$500, never refundable
Phaseout starts	$200,000 of modified AGI; $400,000 on a joint return
Phaseout rate	$50 less for each $1,000, or part of $1,000, over the start
Age test	Under 17 at the end of 2026
Claimed on	Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), with the return
Years	Permanent law. Public Law 119-21 removed the expiry from the expanded credit and indexes the amounts; for 2026 they stand at the figures above

Who counts as a qualifying child

Section 24 of the Internal Revenue Code borrows the general definition of a qualifying child and adds its own limits. In plain words, the child must meet all of these:

Relationship. Your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them, such as a grandchild, niece, or nephew.
Age. Under 17 at the end of 2026. A child who turns 17 at any point in 2026 does not meet this test for 2026.
Residency. The child lived with you for more than half of 2026.
Support. The child did not provide more than half of the child's own support for the year.
Dependent status. You claim the child as a dependent on your return.
Joint return. The child does not file a joint return for 2026, except a return filed only to claim a refund.
Citizenship. The child is a United States citizen, a United States national, or a resident alien.
Social Security numbers. The return carries your Social Security number (on a joint return, at least one spouse's) and the child's. Each number must have been issued by the Social Security Administration, in a category that authorizes work, before the due date of the return. An ITIN does not meet this test.

A child who meets every test except the Social Security number test is not a qualifying child, but the law treats that child as a dependent for the $500 credit for other dependents, so the child belongs in the other dependents figure above. The same $500 figure covers older children and other relatives who are your dependents.

How the refundable part works

A credit first counts against the tax on the return. The child tax credit can reduce that tax to zero, but by itself it pays nothing beyond that point. The additional child tax credit is the part that can still be paid as a refund, and it is bounded by three limits at once:

It cannot exceed $1,700 per qualifying child.
It cannot exceed 15 percent of earned income over $2,500.
It is paid only out of the part of the credit the tax on the return did not use. Schedule 8812 works that part out from the finished return.

That third limit is why this calculator shows the refundable part as an up to figure: the exact split between credit used against tax and credit refunded depends on the tax on your return, which this estimator does not work out. Two boundaries complete the picture. With three or more qualifying children, Schedule 8812 also runs an alternative test based on the payroll taxes you paid, which can only raise the refundable part; this calculator does not run it. And a taxpayer who excludes foreign earned income on Form 2555 cannot claim the refundable part at all.

One timing rule is set by law rather than by the IRS: a federal statute, the PATH Act, bars the IRS from issuing a refund that includes the additional child tax credit before mid-February, and the hold covers the whole refund. Only the IRS controls when a refund is issued.

The phaseout

The phaseout applies to the combined credit, children and other dependents together. For each $1,000 of modified AGI over the start, and for any part of a $1,000 step, the credit falls by $50, and it cannot fall below zero. At $200,000 over the start the reduction reaches $10,000, which is why a large family's credit can be fully phased out while a smaller one is only reduced. Modified AGI for this credit is adjusted gross income plus any amounts excluded under the foreign earned income and Puerto Rico or American Samoa exclusion rules; for most filers it is simply adjusted gross income.

Questions and answers

My child turns 17 in December 2026. Does that child count?

No. The age test looks at the end of the year: a qualifying child must not have reached age 17 by December 31, 2026. A child who turns 17 during 2026 is not a qualifying child for 2026. If that child is still your dependent, the child can count in the other dependents figure instead, at $500.

My child has an ITIN instead of a Social Security number. What changes?

The child tax credit requires a Social Security number for the child, and one for you (on a joint return, for at least one spouse), issued before the due date of the return. An ITIN does not meet that rule, so the child cannot be a qualifying child. If the child is otherwise your dependent, the $500 credit for other dependents can apply instead, and the child belongs in the other dependents figure in the calculator.

I owe no income tax this year. Can any of the credit still reach me?

Yes, through the refundable part, called the additional child tax credit. Up to $1,700 per qualifying child can be paid as a refund even when the credit is larger than the tax. The refundable part is limited to 15 percent of earned income over $2,500, so some earned income is needed. The part of the credit over the refundable limits only counts against tax, and any of it the tax does not use is not paid out.

When will a refund that includes this credit arrive?

Later than an ordinary refund, by law. A federal statute (the PATH Act) bars the IRS from issuing any refund that includes the additional child tax credit before mid-February, and the hold covers the whole refund, not only the credit part. Only the IRS controls when a refund is issued; this site does not estimate refund dates.

Sources

Public Law 119-21, enacted July 4, 2025, section 70104. Made the expanded child tax credit permanent, set the amount at $2,200 in section 24(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, indexed the amounts in new section 24(i), and rewrote the Social Security number rule in section 24(h)(7).
IRS, Revenue Procedure 2025-32, section 4.05, published in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-45. Confirms the tax year 2026 figures: the maximum credit is $2,200 per qualifying child, and the amount used to figure the refundable part is $1,700 per qualifying child.
Internal Revenue Code, section 24. Subsection (b)(1) sets the reduction of $50 for each $1,000, or fraction thereof, over the threshold, and defines modified AGI for this credit; subsection (h)(3) sets the thresholds of $400,000 joint and $200,000 otherwise; subsection (h)(4) sets the $500 credit for other dependents; subsection (c) sets the age and citizenship limits; subsection (d), with subsection (h)(6), sets the refundable formula of 15 percent of earned income over $2,500 and the rule against the refundable credit for foreign earned income exclusion filers.
Schedule 8812 (Form 1040), Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents. Part I works the credit and the phaseout; Part II-A works the refundable part through the three limits described above. The 2026 schedule was still in draft when this page was reviewed; the worksheet structure follows the final 2025 schedule.

Last reviewed: November 4, 2026.