Schedule 8812: Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents (2026)
Claim the Child Tax Credit and the Credit for Other Dependents.
Schedule 8812 calculates your Child Tax Credit — up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 for 2026 — plus the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. It handles the high-income phase-out (starting at $200,000, or $400,000 married filing jointly) and the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit, capped at $1,700 per child, for families whose credit exceeds their tax.
Who files Schedule 8812
- Parents and guardians with a qualifying child under 17 with an SSN.
- Taxpayers claiming the $500 Credit for Other Dependents (older kids, relatives).
- Lower-income families claiming the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit.
How the Child Tax Credit is calculated
Start with the number of qualifying children under 17 with Social Security numbers valid for employment, times the per-child credit (up to $2,200 for 2026). Add $500 for each other dependent. The total is reduced by $50 for every $1,000, or part of $1,000, of modified AGI above the phase-out threshold — $200,000 for most filers, $400,000 married filing jointly. Those thresholds are statutory and are not adjusted for inflation, so they do not move from year to year.
The Child Tax Credit is partly refundable, and the order matters. It is applied against your tax first; only the part your tax could not absorb becomes the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit, capped at $1,700 per child for 2026 and at 15% of earned income over $2,500. If your tax already uses the whole credit, the refundable part is $0 — the ordinary outcome for a middle-income working family, not a problem.
Why the credit you claim earlier changes the credit here
Schedule 8812's Credit Limit Worksheet subtracts the credits that come before the Child Tax Credit in the Form 1040 ordering — notably the Child and Dependent Care Credit on Form 2441. Those credits consume liability the Child Tax Credit would otherwise have used, which pushes MORE of the Child Tax Credit into the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit.
So claiming the care credit does not simply add to your credits: it changes the split between what reduces your tax and what is paid to you. Our Family Tax Credit Finder applies them in the same order for exactly this reason.
The alternative refundable method for three or more children
Part II-B offers a second way to figure the refundable credit, available only to taxpayers with three or more qualifying children: the Social Security, Medicare and Additional Medicare taxes withheld from wages, plus half of any self-employment tax, minus any earned income credit claimed. You take whichever method gives more.
For a large family with modest wages this can exceed the usual 15%-of-earned-income formula. It is easy to miss because it needs payroll-tax figures that do not appear anywhere on the return itself.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Child Tax Credit for 2026?
Up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17 with a Social Security number valid for employment, plus $500 for each other dependent. It is reduced by $50 per $1,000 of modified AGI above $200,000, or $400,000 married filing jointly.
Is the Child Tax Credit refundable?
Partly. The credit offsets your tax first, and only the unused part can become the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit — capped at $1,700 per child for 2026 and at 15% of earned income over $2,500. It is not a separate, additive credit on top of the $2,200.
Why is my Additional Child Tax Credit zero?
Because your tax absorbed the whole Child Tax Credit. If you owe $6,000 of tax and have $4,400 of credit, all of it is used against tax and there is nothing left to refund. That is the normal result for most working families and does not mean you missed anything.
Who is a qualifying child?
Generally your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, or a descendant of any of them, under 17 at year end, who lived with you for more than half the year, did not provide more than half their own support, and has a Social Security number valid for employment issued by the due date of the return.
What if my child has an ITIN rather than an SSN?
They do not qualify for the Child Tax Credit, which requires a Social Security number valid for employment. They may still support the $500 Credit for Other Dependents, which accepts an ITIN or an ATIN. This is one of the most common reasons a claimed credit is later disallowed.
When will a refund including this credit arrive?
Not before mid-February. IRC § 6402(m) bars the IRS from releasing any part of a refund on a return claiming the Additional Child Tax Credit or the Earned Income Credit before then — the whole refund, not just the credit. It is a statute rather than a processing delay.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed July 12, 2026.