Under pre-Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) law, parents could claim a child tax credit (CTC) of $1,000 for each qualifying child under the age of 17. The CTC was phased out for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income (AGI) above certain thresholds—$110,000 for married filing joint taxpayers and $75,000 for single and head of household taxpayers. The CTC was reduced by $50 for each $1,000 or fraction thereof that their AGI exceeded their threshold amount.

All that is changing for 2018 and beyond. Below, I examine the changes in detail.

New Law – Qualifying Child

For tax years after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026, the TCJA modifies the CTC by increasing the credit to $2,000 for each qualifying child under 17 and increasing the phase-out threshold to $400,000 for married filing joint taxpayers and $200,000 for all others. The phase-out computation stays the same. It is also important to know that the CTC has a refundable portion of $1,400. This means that if your total tax liability is less than the sum of your total child tax credits, then up to $1,400 per child can be refunded.

Example: H and W have three qualifying children under age 17 and their total tax liability is $1,500. Their total CTC is $6,000. Their refund is limited to $4,200 ($1,400 x 3).

New Law – Other Dependents

The CTC is also modified to provide a $500 non-refundable credit for qualifying dependents other than qualifying children. This would include dependent children 17 and over (such as college students), disabled adult children, or elderly parents under your care. The phase-out thresholds are the same as the CTC.

That is all today. I look forward to visiting with you next week. Let me know if you have a question—you can reach my office at (713) 785-8939. You can also leave a comment on this post.