Can I Claim Child Credit if I'm Unemployed?
If you are unemployed, you may still claim the child tax credit. In fact, there are only two circumstances in which your employment may alter your child tax credit. First, the IRS will only allow you to claim part of the credit if you make above a certain amount. Second, if you make so little that your child tax credit would be more than the income tax you owe, you may have to claim an additional child tax credit instead.
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Child Tax Credit
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The IRS allows people with children to claim a tax credit of up to $1,000 per child. Whether you are employed or not does not affect your ability to claim the child tax credit. You can claim a credit for a child under the age of 17, whom you have claimed as a dependent on your taxes.
Eligibility
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In order to claim a child tax credit, the child in question must meet certain relationship requirements and must be a legal U.S. resident. You must also provide more than half of the child's support to claim a credit for her. In most cases, the child must live with you for more than half of the year for which you are claiming a credit for her.
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Additional Child Tax Credit
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If you are unemployed, it is possible that your child tax credit will be worth more than you owe. Because the child tax credit is nonrefundable, you might need to claim the additional child tax credit instead. The additional child tax credit is a smaller credit, but it is refundable, so you may be eligible to get some of the funds back in your tax refund.
Income Restriction
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While a low income will not affect your ability to claim a child tax credit, a high income will. According to the IRS, if you are married filing jointly and your income is above $110,000 or married filing separately and your income is above $55,000, the amount you are able to claim will be less than $1,000 per child. If you are not filing a married tax return, the amount you can claim goes down when you make $75,000 or more.
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References
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