At a glance
Quick answer
This calculator estimates the basic nonrefundable Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents from the counts, modified adjusted gross income, filing status, and tax before credits that you enter. For 2025, the supported starting amounts are $2,200 for each qualifying child under age 17 and $500 for each other dependent. A phaseout can reduce that total, and the remaining credit cannot exceed the entered tax. It does not determine whether anyone qualifies or calculate the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit.
How the calculation works
Build the potential dependent credits
The calculation first multiplies the number of qualifying children under 17 by the supported Child Tax Credit amount, then multiplies other dependents by the $500 Credit for Other Dependents amount. Those products form the gross potential credit. The labels matter because a child cannot be placed in both groups. A qualifying child has federal age, relationship, residency, support, dependent, citizenship, and Social Security number requirements. An other dependent has a different set of tests and may require a taxpayer identification number. The calculator accepts the counts you provide and does not verify any of those eligibility facts.
Apply the MAGI phaseout in whole steps
The phaseout begins when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000 for married couples filing jointly or $200,000 for every other supported filing status. The reduction is $50 for each $1,000 of excess MAGI or fraction of $1,000. That final phrase creates a sharp boundary. A single filer at exactly $200,000 has no reduction, while $200,001 creates one full $50 reduction. The reduction applies to the combined potential Child Tax Credit and Other Dependent Credit. It cannot reduce the modeled amount below zero. Enter MAGI rather than taxable income because deductions below the MAGI line do not move this particular threshold.
Limit the result to tax before credits
After the phaseout, the calculator compares the remaining potential credit with the entered regular tax before credits and applies the smaller amount. That is the nonrefundable liability limit. If $4,850 remains after the phaseout but tax before credits is $3,000, only $3,000 is applied here. The unused $1,850 is not shown as a refund. The refundable Additional Child Tax Credit has earned income, refundability, and filing rules outside this focused estimate. Other credits can also compete for the same liability. The output therefore answers how much of these basic credits could be used against the stated tax, not the size of a refund or balance due.
2025 and 2026 values
Tax year 2025
2025 final Child Tax Credit values
The final 2025 calculation uses $2,200 per qualifying child under age 17 and $500 per other dependent. Phaseout starts above $400,000 MAGI for married filing jointly and above $200,000 for single, head of household, married filing separately, and qualifying surviving spouse. Each $1,000 of excess MAGI, or fraction, reduces the combined potential credit by $50. The modeled credit remains nonrefundable and cannot exceed tax before credits.
Tax year 2026
2026 planning Child Tax Credit values
The 2026 planning estimate currently uses $2,200 per qualifying child, $500 per other dependent, the $400,000 joint and $200,000 other status phaseout starts, and the $50 per $1,000 reduction. These are the values implemented from enacted law and available inflation guidance. The page keeps 2026 labeled planning because later IRS forms and instructions can clarify identification, eligibility, refundability, and filing details before returns are prepared.
Recalculate it yourself
Worked example
Single filer one dollar into the phaseout
A single filer has $200,001 MAGI, two qualifying children under 17, one other dependent, and $3,000 of tax before credits in 2025.
- Two qualifying children × $2,200 = $4,400 of gross Child Tax Credit.
- One other dependent × $500 = $500, so $4,400 + $500 = $4,900 of gross potential credits.
- $200,001 MAGI − the $200,000 single phaseout start = $1 of excess. Because any fraction of $1,000 counts, $1 ÷ $1,000 rounds up to 1 phaseout step.
- One phaseout step × $50 = a $50 reduction. $4,900 − $50 = $4,850 before the liability limit.
- The smaller of $4,850 and $3,000 tax before credits is $3,000.
Result
The modeled nonrefundable amount applied is $3,000. The calculation also exposes the $4,850 credit before the tax limit, so the $1,850 difference is visible as an amount this focused tool did not apply. It is not automatically refundable.
What is included
- Basic Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents amounts for the entered dependent counts.
- The filing status MAGI threshold, the $50 step reduction, and the entered tax before credits.
- A separate display of gross credits, phaseout steps, phaseout reduction, credit before the tax limit, and nonrefundable amount applied.
What is not included
- Dependent eligibility determinations, including relationship, age, residency, support, identification number, citizenship, and duplicate claim rules.
- Refundable Additional Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, child and dependent care credit, adoption credit, and interactions that establish credit ordering.
- State and local dependent benefits, return preparation, refund calculation, withholding, estimated payments, penalties, and any tax item not entered.
Common mistakes
Treating an entered dependent count as an eligibility decision
The calculator does not inspect birth dates, months lived with the taxpayer, support, relationship, citizenship, or identification numbers. Confirm each federal test before relying on the amount. A person who is a qualifying child for one taxpayer may not be freely reassigned to another return, and tie breaker rules can matter.
Ignoring the fraction of $1,000 rule
The phaseout is not a smooth percentage. Once MAGI exceeds the applicable threshold, even $1 of excess creates a $50 reduction. Dividing excess MAGI by $1,000 and rounding down would understate the reduction. The worked example deliberately uses $200,001 to make that boundary visible.
Calling the unused nonrefundable amount a refund
Tax before credits limits the result shown here. Any difference between the credit before the limit and the amount applied is not a refund calculation. Refundable Additional Child Tax Credit rules and other return items must be evaluated separately on the federal return.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Child Tax Credit calculator estimate?
It estimates the supported basic Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents using entered dependent counts, income phaseout, and modeled liability limits.
Does this calculator determine whether a dependent qualifies?
No. Relationship, age, residency, support, identification, and other federal tests must be checked separately before treating a person as a qualifying dependent.
Does the estimate include every refundable child credit rule?
No. This focused tool models the listed basic nonrefundable credits. Refundable Additional Child Tax Credit calculations and other dependent benefits are outside its scope.
Primary sources
- 2025 Instructions for Form 1040, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25
- Public Law 119-21, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-24
- IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32, opens in a new tab
Reviewed 2026-07-25