Calculate child tax credit amount based on number of qualifying children, income, filing status, and phase-out thresholds.
Each qualifying child under 17 is worth up to $2,200 off your federal tax bill, but that amount shrinks once your modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 single or $400,000 married filing jointly. Enter the number of qualifying children, your filing status, and your MAGI, and the calculator multiplies children by the per-child amount, then subtracts $50 for every $1,000 (or part of one) your income sits above the threshold. A MAGI just $1 over the threshold still triggers a full $50 reduction, since any partial $1,000 rounds up to the next bracket.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
Married filing jointly, 3 qualifying children under 17, MAGI $420,000
Expected output
$5,600 total credit ($6,600 base reduced by a $1,000 phase-out)
3 children x $2,200 = $6,600 base. MAGI is $20,000 over the $400,000 MFJ threshold, exactly 20 increments of $1,000; each increment cuts $50, a $1,000 reduction, leaving $5,600.
The calculator multiplies your qualifying-child count by $2,200 per child (the amount for 2025; inflation-adjusted in later years), then checks your modified adjusted gross income against the filing-status threshold: $200,000 for single, head of household, or married filing separately, $400,000 for married filing jointly. Any MAGI above that threshold reduces the credit by $50 per $1,000, rounding any partial $1,000 up.
A qualifying child must be under 17 at the end of the tax year, related to you (child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or a descendant of one), live with you more than half the year, not provide more than half of their own support, and hold a Social Security number valid for employment. The tool assumes every child you enter meets these tests; it does not verify them.
Your modified adjusted gross income is above the phase-out threshold ($200,000 single, $400,000 married filing jointly), so $50 is subtracted for every $1,000 (or part of one) you're over. This calculator only applies the per-child amount and phase-out - it doesn't calculate the separate refundable-portion limit tied to earned income, so your actual credit could differ for that reason too.
No. This gives a planning estimate, not a filing-ready number. Your actual credit is calculated on Schedule 8812 with your tax software or a preparer, using your exact modified AGI, filing status, and any other credits or dependents that interact with it.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
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