The child tax credit is now locked in at $2,200 per qualifying child, made permanent by the 2025 tax law, with up to $1,700 of it available as a refund even to families who owe little or no federal tax. Making the amount permanent ends years of uncertainty in which the credit’s size was set to swing with expiring provisions. For families raising children, it means a predictable break they can count on at tax time, indexed to keep pace with inflation going forward.
What the permanent credit is worth
The credit reduces your federal tax bill dollar for dollar by up to $2,200 for each qualifying child. The IRS describes the changes in its guidance on the 2025 tax law, which sets the credit permanently at $2,200 per child and indexes that amount to inflation in future years. The refundable portion — the part you can receive as a refund even if it exceeds your tax liability — is up to $1,700 per child, also adjusted over time.
The distinction between the total credit and the refundable portion is where a lot of families get confused. If you owe $1,000 in federal tax and have one qualifying child, the credit erases the $1,000 you owe and can pay you up to $1,700 more as a refund through the refundable piece — meaning a family with little tax liability can still get real money back. Families with higher tax bills use more of the credit to offset what they owe.
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Who counts as a qualifying child
The rules for who qualifies did not change. A qualifying child must generally be under 17 at the end of the tax year, be your dependent, live with you for more than half the year, and be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident with a valid Social Security number. The child must also not provide more than half of their own support. These are the same tests families have used for years, and the IRS’s child tax credit page walks through each one.
The credit also phases out for higher earners. It begins to shrink once income passes certain thresholds — $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers — so the full amount reaches the large majority of families while tapering off for the highest earners. Below those levels, a family gets the full $2,200 per child.
Why permanence matters for planning
In recent years the child tax credit’s amount was scheduled to fall when temporary provisions lapsed, forcing families to guess at future budgets and Congress to negotiate extensions. Making $2,200 permanent removes that guessing. A family planning around child care, a move, or a return to work can now treat the credit as a fixed feature of the tax code rather than a benefit that might shrink. The inflation indexing further protects its value, so the credit will not quietly erode as prices rise.
Permanence also affects timing decisions. Because the credit is stable, families no longer need to rush to capture a larger version before it expires; the same amount will be there next year and beyond, adjusted upward for inflation.
How to claim it
You claim the credit when you file your federal return, listing each qualifying child with a valid Social Security number. Tax software and preparers calculate both the nonrefundable and refundable portions automatically, but families who do not normally file because their income is low should still file a return to collect the refundable part — that money is left on the table otherwise. Free filing help is available through IRS-backed VITA sites for households under the income guideline, and the IRS child tax credit page above is the authoritative source for each year’s exact figures and thresholds. For a family with two young children, the permanent credit can mean $4,400 off the tax bill, with as much as $3,400 payable as a refund.
The Social Security number rule that trips families up
One requirement quietly disqualifies some families who would otherwise get the full credit: each qualifying child must have a valid Social Security number issued before the return’s due date. A child with only an individual taxpayer identification number does not qualify for the child tax credit, though such a dependent may be eligible for a separate, smaller credit for other dependents. Making sure a child’s Social Security number is in hand and entered correctly is a small step that protects a credit worth up to $2,200.
The refundable design is what makes filing worthwhile even for very low earners. Because up to $1,700 per child can come back as a refund beyond any tax owed, a working family with little tax liability still collects real money — but only if it files a return. Households that skip filing because their income falls below the requirement leave that refund unclaimed, and it cannot be recovered without a return. Free preparation is available through IRS-backed VITA sites for households under the income guideline, and the IRS’s child tax credit page spells out the eligibility tests and each year’s figures, so a family unsure whether it qualifies can confirm before filing rather than guess.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
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