Child Tax Credit Calculator 2026
Estimate your 2026 Child Tax Credit and refundable Additional Child Tax Credit using the current IRS phaseout thresholds and earned-income refundability rules.
Last updated: April 4, 2026
Calculator
This calculator focuses on the Child Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit. It does not calculate the Credit for Other Dependents or every Schedule 8812 edge case.
Current planning assumptions used for 2026
- Maximum Child Tax Credit per qualifying child: $2,200
- Maximum refundable Additional Child Tax Credit per qualifying child: $1,700
- Earned income threshold for ACTC: $2,500
- Phaseout threshold: $200,000 for most filers, $400,000 for married filing jointly
- Phaseout rate: $50 for each $1,000, or fraction of $1,000, above the threshold
How to read the result
The most important split is between the nonrefundable Child Tax Credit that offsets tax liability and the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit that can still generate a refund. A family can qualify for the headline credit amount and still receive less than that in practice if income is too high, tax liability is low, or earned income is not high enough for the refundable piece.
This is why the calculator asks for both tax liability and earned income. Those are the two numbers that usually decide how much of the child credit actually becomes usable.
Related pages
Common mistakes
- Assuming the full credit is always refundable.
- Missing the $200,000 or $400,000 MAGI phaseout threshold.
- Forgetting that the refundable ACTC has its own earned-income test.
- Using children who do not meet the age or Social Security number rules.
FAQ
Does this include the Credit for Other Dependents?
No. This page is focused on the Child Tax Credit and refundable Additional Child Tax Credit for qualifying children under age 17.
Why can the refundable amount be lower than the remaining child credit?
Because the ACTC is limited by earned income and by the per-child refundable cap. That means some unused child credit can still remain nonrefundable.
How families usually use this estimate
The first question is usually whether the credit survives the phaseout. The second is whether enough of it is refundable to matter after tax liability is used up. That makes this calculator especially useful for families near the $200,000 or $400,000 income lines and for families whose earned income is high enough to make the ACTC relevant.
If the result looks lower than the headline per-child amount, the next thing to check is which limit is binding. A lower result usually comes from phaseout, low tax liability, or the refundable cap rather than from a calculation error.
Examples
Income below the phaseout threshold
A family with two qualifying children and MAGI below the threshold can start with the full credit and then see how much is used as nonrefundable credit versus refundable ACTC.
Income above the threshold
A higher-income family may still qualify for part of the credit, but the phaseout can shave down the available amount before refundability is even considered.
Low tax liability case
A family with modest tax liability may rely more heavily on the refundable ACTC rules than on the basic nonrefundable credit.
Who this calculator is best for
This tool is most useful for parents running planning scenarios before filing, especially when they want a quick answer to how much of the child credit is likely to show up on the return under the current IRS framework.