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The Child Tax Credit is an important tax credit that may be
worth as much as $1,000 per qualifying child depending upon your income. Here
are 11 important facts from the IRS about this credit and how it may benefit
your family.
1. Amount - With the Child Tax Credit, you may be able to
reduce your federal income tax by up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under
the age of 17.
2. Qualification - A qualifying child for this credit is
someone who meets the qualifying criteria of seven tests: age, relationship,
support, dependent, joint return, citizenship, and residence.
3. Age Test - To qualify, a child must have been under age
17 – age 16 or younger – at the end of 2011.
4. Relationship Test - To claim a child for purposes of the
Child Tax Credit, they must either be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster
child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or a descendant of any of these
individuals, which includes your grandchild, niece or nephew. An adopted child
is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully
placed with you for legal adoption.
5. Support Test In order to claim a child for this credit,
the child must not have provided more than half of their own support.
6. Dependent Test - You must claim the child as a dependent
on your federal tax return.
7. Joint Return Test - The qualifying child can not file a
joint return for the year (or files it only as a claim for refund).
8. Citizenship Test - To meet the citizenship test, the
child must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien.
9. Residence Test - The child must have lived with you for
more than half of 2011. There are some exceptions to the residence test, which
can be found in IRS Publication 972, Child Tax Credit.
10. Limitations - The credit is limited if your modified
adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which this
phase-out begins varies depending on your filing status. For married taxpayers
filing a joint return, the phase-out begins at $110,000. For married taxpayers
filing a separate return, it begins at $55,000. For all other taxpayers, the
phase-out begins at $75,000. In addition, the Child Tax Credit is generally
limited by the amount of the income tax you owe as well as any alternative
minimum tax you owe.
11. Additional Child Tax Credit - If the amount of your
Child Tax Credit is greater than the amount of income tax you owe, you may be
able to claim the Additional Child Tax Credit.
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