There is no specific limit on the number of children you can claim on your taxes for the Child Tax Credit, as long as each child meets the IRS qualifying criteria. You can claim up to $2,000 per qualifying child under age 17 for the 2024 and 2025 tax years, with up to $1,700 of that amount potentially refundable per child
. Key points about claiming children on taxes:
- Qualifying child criteria: The child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year, be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or a descendant of any of these, live with you for more than half the year, not provide more than half of their own support, be claimed as your dependent, and be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident alien with a valid Social Security number
- Income limits: To claim the full credit, your modified adjusted gross income must be $400,000 or less if married filing jointly, or $200,000 or less for other filers. The credit phases out above these thresholds
- No maximum number of children: You can claim the credit for each qualifying child you have. For example, if you have four qualifying children, you could claim up to $8,000 in Child Tax Credit (4 x $2,000)
- Only one person can claim a particular child: If multiple people qualify to claim the same child (e.g., divorced parents), only one can claim the child for tax benefits in a given year, following IRS tiebreaker rules
- Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) limit: Separately, for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the maximum number of children you can claim is three, which affects that specific credit but not the Child Tax Credit
In summary, you can claim as many children as you have who meet the IRS qualifying child tests for the Child Tax Credit, with no set maximum number imposed by the IRS for this credit. Each qualifying child can provide a credit of up to $2,000 for 2024 and 2025 tax years, subject to income limits and other eligibility requirements
