The Child Tax Credit did not expand in 2024 — it stayed at the 2017 level
The Child Tax Credit for 2024 remains $2,000 per child under age 17, the same amount that has been in place since 2018. There was no new law passed in 2024 that changed this amount or the way you claim it on your tax return.
The credit you may be thinking of — the expanded version that gave families up to $3,600 per child in 2021 — expired at the end of 2021. That temporary increase was part of the American Rescue Plan and was never extended beyond that year. Congress did not pass legislation in 2024 to bring it back or to raise the current $2,000 amount.
When you file your 2024 tax return in 2025, you will use the $2,000-per-child amount if you have children under 17 and meet the income and citizenship requirements.
Key Takeaways
- The Child Tax Credit for 2024 is $2,000 per child under age 17, unchanged from 2023.
- The temporary expansion to $3,600 per child ended on December 31, 2021, and was not renewed.
- You claim the credit on your 2024 tax return when you file in early 2025, not as a monthly payment.
- Income limits apply: the credit begins to reduce if your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000 for married couples filing jointly or $200,000 for single filers.
What the $2,000 credit covers and how it works
The $2,000 per child is a tax credit, which means it reduces the amount of federal income tax you owe dollar-for-dollar. If you owe $3,500 in federal tax and have two children, the credit of $4,000 would wipe out your tax bill and leave you with a refund of $500 (assuming no other credits or adjustments).
The credit applies to each child under age 17 at the end of the tax year. The child must be a U.S. citizen, national, or resident alien, and you must have a valid Social Security number for them. The child must also be your son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or descendant of any of these (such as a grandchild or niece).
You claim the credit on your tax return using Form 1040 and Schedule 8812 (or the child tax credit worksheet if you use the 1040 instructions). You do not receive it as a monthly payment — it is calculated when you file.
Income limits that reduce or eliminate the credit
The credit is not available to all families. It phases out — meaning it gets smaller — once your income reaches a certain threshold. For the 2024 tax year, the credit begins to reduce by $50 for each $1,000 (or fraction thereof) of income above these limits:
- $400,000 for married couples filing jointly
- $200,000 for single filers, heads of household, or may have access to widows/widowers
- $200,000 for married couples filing separately
If your income is $420,000 and you are married filing jointly, your credit would be reduced by $100 (two $1,000 increments above $400,000). If your income is $450,000, the credit would be reduced by $150, and so on, until the credit reaches zero.
The difference between the 2024 credit and the 2021 expansion
In 2021 and 2022, families received a temporary expansion under the American Rescue Plan. That version offered up to $3,600 per child under age 6 and up to $3,000 per child ages 6 to 16. Families also received half the credit as monthly payments from July through December 2021 — roughly $250 to $300 per child per month, depending on the child's age.
That expansion ended on December 31, 2021. The credit reverted to $2,000 per child for the 2022 tax year and has remained there since. No monthly payments have been issued since December 2021, and there is no current law that would restart them.
Some proposals in Congress have called for bringing back the expanded credit or the monthly payments, but none became law in 2024. If you are waiting for a monthly payment, it is not coming under current law.
How to claim the credit when you file your 2024 return
You will claim the Child Tax Credit when you file your federal income tax return for 2024, which you can do starting in early 2025. You will need:
- The full legal name of each child as it appears on their Social Security card
- The valid Social Security number for each child
- Proof that each child lived with you for more than half the year (or that you are the custodial parent in a custody arrangement)
- Your filing status and income information from your 2024 tax documents
If you use tax software or work with a tax preparer, you will enter this information into the return, and the software or preparer will calculate the credit automatically. If you file by hand, you will use Schedule 8812 to calculate the credit and enter it on Form 1040.
The credit is refundable up to a limit. This means that if the credit is larger than the tax you owe, you may receive the difference as a refund — but only up to $1,700 per child for 2024. Any credit amount above that limit is not refunded to you.
What changed and what did not change in 2024
The $2,000 per-child amount did not change in 2024. The income limits did not change. The age cutoff (under 17) did not change. The rules for who qualifies as a dependent did not change.
The only annual adjustment that happens to the Child Tax Credit is an inflation adjustment to the income phase-out thresholds. For 2024, those thresholds stayed the same as 2023 because inflation adjustments are rounded and do not always result in a change every year.
If you heard news about the Child Tax Credit in 2024, it likely referred to proposals being debated in Congress or state-level credits (some states offer their own child tax credits in addition to the federal one). But the federal credit itself — the one you claim on your Form 1040 — remained unchanged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Child Tax Credit go back to $3,600 per child?
There is no current law that would increase it back to $3,600. Various proposals have been introduced in Congress, but none passed into law in 2024. If you want to know whether a proposal might pass in the future, you can check Congress.gov or contact your representative's office, but you should not count on an increase when planning your 2024 taxes.
Can I get the credit as a monthly payment like in 2021?
No. Monthly payments ended on December 31, 2021. The credit is now claimed only on your tax return when you file. There is no current program that sends monthly payments for the Child Tax Credit.
What if my child was born in 2024 — can I claim the credit?
Yes, if the child was born before December 31, 2024, and you have a valid Social Security number for them. You claim the credit on your 2024 return when you file in 2025. The child does not have to have lived with you for the full year — they just need to have been born by the end of the tax year.
Do I lose the credit if I earn too much money?
The credit reduces as your income rises above $400,000 (married filing jointly) or $200,000 (single). It does not disappear completely unless your income is very high — roughly $440,000 or more for married couples, depending on the number of children. You can calculate your exact credit using the IRS worksheet or tax software.
Is the Child Tax Credit different from the Earned Income Tax Credit?
Yes. The Child Tax Credit is $2,000 per child under 17. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a separate credit based on your income and work status, and the amount varies. You may be able to claim both credits on the same return if you meet the requirements for each one.