Requirements for the Child Tax Credit

Before claiming the Child Tax Credit, you will first have to determine whether you child is eligible. Luckily, this is something you should never worry about since the information is readily available online. In fact, it will not take long before you can finally get to know more regarding Child tax credit eligibility. To give you a slight insight into the requirements for the child tax credit, you ought to know that you child must be under the age of 17 at the end of the tax year for which you are claiming the credit.

Aside from the age of your child, it is also important to carry out a relationship test. What this simply means is that the child must be your own, a foster child placed with you by an authorized agency/court or a stepchild. You are also allowed to claim your sister or brother, stepsister and stepbrother. In case there happen to be any descendants of these qualifying people be it your nephews or nieces, then you can claim the credit. However, you need to make sure they have met all the other tests.

Other notable tests you can use in determining Child tax credit eligibility include family income test, residence test, citizenship test, dependent test, support test to mention a few. However, you need to make sure you understand what each test is all about before you can finally claim the credit. For instance, you can only qualify for the support test if the child cannot have provided more than half of her or his own financial year throughout the tax year.

Keep in mind the Child Tax Credit is not refundable if at all your credit is way more than your tax liability. In this case, you tax bill will be reduced to zero and you will lose any remaining unused credit. The good news is that you can claim a refundable Additional Child Tax Credit for the balance that was not used.  Be sure to understand fully the Child tax credit eligibility before making the decision of claiming the credit.

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