 TITLE: The Child Tax Credit Explained CONTENT: The child tax credit—which is now $2,000 per qualifying dependent—was created to help parents offset the costs of raising a family. Unlike a tax deduction, which reduces your taxable income, a tax credit directly reduces the amount of tax you pay. If you owe $5,000 in taxes otherwise and can apply the child tax credit for one qualifying dependent, for example, your tax bill would lower to $3,000.\nThe child tax credit is available to those whose incomes fall within a certain range. For the 2018 tax year and beyond, the threshold where the child tax credit begins to phase out is $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for those married filing jointly. Also note that families must earn at least $2,500 per year to qualify for this credit.\nKeep in mind that the income thresholds are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), or the amount of income you have after accounting for other deductions and credits. If a single filer or couple reports a MAGI above income thresholds, the credit is reduced by $50 for each $1,000 their income exceeds the threshold.\nThe child tax credit is also refundable to some taxpayers in amounts up to $1,400. This means that even if you don't owe any taxes at the end of the year, you can still be refunded up to $1,400 of the credit. END