Video: The Child Tax Credit Explained
There’s a lot of buzz about possible changes coming to the Child Tax Credit. CPA and TurboTax expert Lisa Greene-Lewis helps clear up the confusion.
Video transcript:
Tracy Byrnes: Well, there's been a lot of buzz around the Child Tax Credit lately so let's try to clear the air. Lisa Greene-Lewis, CPA, TurboTax expert is here with us right now. Lisa, first of all, can you explain to us who, in theory, is a child in the eyes of the IRS? And what is this tax credit?
Lisa Greene-Lewis: Yes. So it has to be your dependent child. And they have to be under 17. So to qualify as a dependent, you have to provide over half of their support. There's also some income requirements in order to get it. So if you're single, you can't make more than $200,000, (married, filing jointly, $400,000) to get the full credit. Your child also has to be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. national.
Tracy Byrnes: OK, so once you figure out whether you're eligible or not, then what exactly is the credit? What do you get back?
Lisa Greene-Lewis: Yeah, so the credit is up to $2,000 per dependent child under 17.