Artículo Earned income credit.. Earned income credit.

id="en_US_2025_publink1000174240"> Earned income credit. If you can take this credit, the IRS can figure it for you. Enter “EIC” on the dotted line on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 27a. If you elect to use your nontaxable combat pay in figuring your EIC, enter the amount on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 1i. If you have a qualifying child, you must fill in Schedule EIC (Form 1040), Earned Income Credit, and attach it to your paper return. If you don’t provide the child’s social security number on Schedule EIC, line 2, the credit will be reduced or disallowed unless the child was born and died in 2025. If your credit for any year after 1996 was reduced or disallowed by the IRS, you may also have to file Form 8862 with your return. For details, see the Instructions for Form 1040. 14. Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents What’s New SSN required by due date of return. If you don’t have an SSN issued before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can’t claim the CTC or ACTC on either your original or an amended 2025 return. If you are filing a joint return, only one spouse is required to have an SSN issued by the due date of your return in order to be eligible for the CTC and ACTC. The other spouse may have an ITIN, but it must have been issued on or before the due date of the return. CTC amount increased. The maximum amount of CTC for each qualifying child increased to $2,200. Reminders ACTC amount. The maximum amount of ACTC for each qualifying child is $1,700. Schedule 8812 (Form 1040). Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) and its instructions are the single source for figuring and reporting the child tax credit, credit for other dependents, and additional child tax credit. The instructions now include all applicable worksheets for figuring these credits. As a result, Pub. 972, Child Tax Credit, won’t be revised. For prior-year versions of Pub. 972, go to IRS.gov/Pub972 . Abbreviations used throughout this chapter. The following abbreviations will be used in this chapter when appropriate. ACTC means additional child tax credit. ATIN means adoption taxpayer identification number. CTC means child tax credit. ITIN means individual taxpayer identification number. ODC means credit for other dependents. SSN means social security number. TIN means taxpayer identification number. A TIN may be an ATIN, an ITIN, or an SSN. Other abbreviations may be used in this chapter and will be defined as needed. Delayed refund for returns claiming the ACTC. The IRS can’t issue refunds before mid-February 2026 for returns that properly claim the ACTC. This time frame applies to the entire refund, not just the portion associated with the ACTC. Introduction The CTC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $2,200 for each child who qualifies you for the credit. See Limits on the CTC and ODC , later. The ACTC is a credit you may be able to take if you are not able to claim the full amount of the CTC. The ODC is a credit that may reduce your tax by as much as $500 for each eligible dependent. . The CTC and the ACTC shouldn’t be confused with the child and dependent care credit discussed in Pub. 503. . Useful Items You may want to see: Form (and Instructions) Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents 8862 Information To Claim Certain Credits After Disallowance For these and other useful items, go to IRS.gov/Forms . Taxpayer Identification Number Requirements You must have a TIN by the due date of your return. If you, or your spouse if filing jointly, don’t have an SSN issued before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can’t claim the CTC or ACTC on either your original or amended 2025 tax return. If you, or your spouse if filing jointly, don’t have an SSN or ITIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can’t claim the ODC on either your original or amended 2025 tax return. If you apply for an ITIN on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions) and the IRS issues you an ITIN as a result of the application, the IRS will consider your ITIN as issued on or before the due date of your return. Each qualifying child you use for CTC or ACTC must have the required SSN. If you have a qualifying child who doesn’t have the required SSN, you can’t use the child to claim the CTC or ACTC on either your original or amended 2025 tax return. The required SSN is one that is valid for employment and is issued before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions). If your qualifying child was born and died in 2025 and you don’t have an SSN for the child, attach a copy of the child’s birth certificate, death certificate, or hospital records. The document must show the child was born alive. If your qualifying child doesn’t have the required SSN but has another type of TIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you may be able to claim the ODC for that child. See Credit for Other Dependents (ODC) , later. Each dependent you use for the ODC must have a TIN by the due date of your return. If you have a dependent who doesn’t have an SSN, ITIN, or ATIN issued on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions), you can’t use that dependent to claim the ODC on either your original or amended 2025 tax return. If you apply for an ITIN or ATIN for the dependent on or before the due date of your 2025 return (including extensions) and the IRS issues the ITIN or ATIN as a result of the application, the IRS will consider the ITIN or ATIN as issued on or before the due date of your return. Improper Claims If you erroneously claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC, and it is later determined that your error was due to reckless or intentional disregard of the CTC, ACTC, or ODC rules, you will not be allowed to claim any of these credits for 2 years. If it is determined that your error was due to fraud, you will not be allowed to claim any of these credits for 10 years. You may also have to pay penalties. See How to appeal the disallowance period in the Instructions for Form 8862, for more information about what to do if you disagree with our determination that you can’t claim the credit for 2 or 10 years. Form 8862 may be required. If your CTC (refundable or nonrefundable depending on the tax year), ACTC, or ODC for a year after 2015 was denied or reduced for any reason other than a math or clerical error, you must attach Form 8862 to your tax return to claim the CTC, ACTC, or ODC, unless an exception applies. See Form 8862, and its instructions for more information, including whether an exception applies. Child Tax Credit (CTC) The CTC is for individuals who claim a child as a dependent if the child meets additional conditions (described later). Note: This credit is different from and in addition to the credit for child and dependent care expenses and the earned income credit that you may also be eligible to claim. The maximum amount you can claim for the credit is $2,200 for each child who qualifies you for the CTC. But, see Limits on the CTC and ODC , later. For more information about claiming the CTC, see Claiming the CTC and ODC , later. Qualifying Child for the CTC A child qualifies you for the CTC if the child meets all of the following conditions. The child is your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, or a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew). The child was under age 17 at the end of 2025. The child didn’t provide over half the child’s own support for 2025. The child lived with you for more than half of 2025 (see Exceptions to time lived with you , later). The child is claimed as a dependent on your return. See chapter 3 for more information about claiming someone as a dependent. The child doesn’t file a joint return for the year (or files it only to claim a refund of withheld income tax or estimated tax paid). The child was a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. resident alien. For more information, see Pub. 519. If the child was adopted, see Adopted child , later. Example. Your child turned 17 on December 30, 2025, and is a citizen of the United States and claimed as a dependent on your return. You can't use the child to claim the CTC or ACTC because the child was not under age 17 at the end of 2025. . If your child is age 17 or older at the end of 2025, see Credit for Other Dependents (ODC) , later. . Adopted child. An adopted child is always treated as your own child. An adopted child includes a child lawfully placed with you for legal adoption. If you are a U.S. citizen or U.S. national and your adopted child lived with you all year as a member of your household in 2025, that child meets condition 7, earlier, to be a qualifying child for the child tax credit (or condition 3, later, to be a qualifying person for the ODC). Exceptions to time lived with you. A child is considered to have lived with you for more than half of 2025 if the child was born or died in 2025 and your home was this child's home for more than half the time the child was alive. Temporary absences by you or the child for special circumstances, such as school, vacation, business, medical care, military service, or detention in a juvenile facility, count as time the child lived with you. There are also exceptions for kidnapped children and children of divorced or separated parents. For details, see Residency Test in chapter 3. Qualifying child of more than one person. A special rule applies if your qualifying child is the qualifying child of more than one person. For details, see Qualifying Child of More Than One Person in chapter 3. Required SSN In addition to being a qualifying child for the CTC, your child must have the required SSN. The required SSN is one that is valid for employment and that is issued by the Social Security Administration (SSA) before the due date of your 2025 return (inc