Increased to $2,000 in 2018

The child tax credit increases in 2018 to $2,000 (up from $1,000) with up to $1,400 being refundable. The earned income threshold is reduced to $2,500 (down from $3,000 in 2017) allowing more taxpayers to qualify for the credit. A child has to be under the age of 17 and have a valid Social Security number issued before the return due date to qualify for the credit.

In addition, a non-refundable tax credit of $500 is available for each non-child dependent that does not qualify for the child tax credit. The AGI thresholds at which the credit begins to phase out are substantially increased: to $400,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 for all other taxpayers.