The Child Tax Credit explained

If you're wondering about the recent expansion to the Child Tax Credit, and who is eligible, Lisa Greene-Lewis, CPA and TurboTax expert, explains what you should know. Watch the video above or read the transcript below.

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.

Tracy Byrnes: And are there income limitations on that?

Lisa Greene-Lewis: To get the full credit, it's $200,000 single and $400,000 married, filing jointly.

Tracy Byrnes: Perfect. And there may be reasons why people should hold off on filing. Why is that?

Lisa Greene-Lewis: There's no reason, actually. I know there's been a lot of buzz about there being an expansion to the child tax credit. But the IRS commissioner even has come out and encouraged people to file and don't wait. He has said that, should it expand, the IRS will adjust returns if they are impacted. So there's nothing that filers need to do on their end. So I would definitely say, go ahead and file. Especially, you may be eligible for other credits for your kids, like the Child and Dependent Care Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is up to $7,430 for a family with three kids.

Tracy Byrnes: And again, those things get complicated and confusing. There's education credits in there too. Is there an easy way to keep this all together and to keep it straight?

Lisa Greene-Lewis: Yes. So you can come to TurboTax. And we have our TurboTax Live Experts. And you can either ask them questions along the way. And they can review your return before you file. Or you can fully hand your taxes off to them. And then new this year, you can meet with a tax pro in your area, a local tax pro. And they can do your taxes for you.

Tracy Byrnes: Those kids are expensive. So if you can get a little back from the IRS, why the heck not? Lisa Greene-Lewis, TurboTax expert and CPA, thank you for all that.

Lisa Greene-Lewis: Thank you for having me.