Family Tax Credit Calculator 2026
Every 2026 family credit computed together and in the order Form 1040 applies them — Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit, the Child and Dependent Care Credit at its new OBBBA rate, the Earned Income Credit on its actual curve, and the adoption credit.
Quick answer
This computes each 2026 family credit from the published figures, applies them in Form 1040 order, and separates what reduces your tax from what is paid to you. The Earned Income Credit is computed on the IRC § 32 phase-in and phase-out curve rather than reported as an eligibility flag.
What this includes
- Child Tax Credit at $2,200 per child, with the $50-per-$1,000 phase-out from $200,000 ($400,000 joint)
- Credit for Other Dependents at $500, and the refundable Additional Child Tax Credit capped at $1,700 per child
- The Child and Dependent Care Credit at the OBBBA rate — 50% falling to 20% — including the dependent-care FSA offset
- The Earned Income Credit computed on the 2026 curve, with the $12,200 investment-income cliff
- The adoption credit at $17,670 per child, with the $5,120 refundable portion new for 2026
- Filing-status restrictions, the SSN requirement, and the earned-income tests each credit turns on
What it excludes
- The relationship, residency and support tests that decide whether a child qualifies at all
- Education credits, the saver's credit and the premium tax credit
- State credits, several of which mirror the federal EITC at a percentage of it
- Whether someone else is claiming the same child, which no calculator can see
The 2026 rule most people get wrong: The Additional Child Tax Credit is not a bonus on top of the Child Tax Credit — it is the part your tax could not absorb. And two 2026 figures are commonly published as 2025 ones: the investment-income cliff is $12,200, not $11,950, and the care credit's top rate is 50%, not 35%.
How these figures are calculated · IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 · IRS — Earned Income Tax Credit · Tax data last verified
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Household
$
Drives every phase-out on this page
$
Wages plus net self-employment earnings
$
Over $12,200 blocks the EITC for 2026
$
Caps the care credit at the lower earner's income
Dependents
$2,200 Child Tax Credit each
$500 each, nonrefundable
Child and dependent care
Under 13, or a disabled spouse or dependent
$
Counts up to $3,000 for one, $6,000 for two or more
$
Up to $7,500 for 2026. It reduces the credit's expense limit dollar for dollar.
Adoption
$
Up to $17,670 per child
Your 2026 family credits
Used against tax
$6,440
Paid to you
$60
$6,500 in total, against $6,440 of tax before credits.
Nonrefundable, in Form 1040 order
Child and Dependent Care Credit$2,100
35% of $6,000 of eligible expenses. Applied first, so it consumes tax the Child Tax Credit would otherwise use.
Child Tax Credit used against tax$4,340
2 × $2,200
Credit for Other Dependents—
Total used against tax$6,440
Refundable — paid whether or not you owe tax
Additional Child Tax Credit$60
Limited by the unused portion of your credit
Earned Income Credit—
Your income is at or above the point where the credit has fully phased out.
Total paid to you$60
Where you sit on the EITC curve
Maximum for your family size$7,316
2 qualifying children (capped at 3)
Reaches the maximum at$18,290
Of earned income
Phase-out begins at$31,160
On the greater of AGI and earned income
Fully phased out at$65,899
Your income for this test$90,000
The credit also requires conditions this page cannot check:
- You, your spouse and every qualifying child have a Social Security number valid for employment, issued by the due date of the return.
- You lived in the United States for more than half the year (or meet the military or clergy exception).
- You are not the qualifying child of another person, and no one else is claiming the same child.
- Each qualifying child is under 19 at year end — under 24 if a full-time student, any age if permanently and totally disabled — is related to you, and lived with you in the United States for more than half the year.
Dependent-care FSA and the credit
Statutory expense limit$6,000
Two or more qualifying persons
FSA money excluded from income—
Expense limit left for the credit$6,000
Earned-income cap$35,000
The lower-earning spouse's earned income
Expenses the credit is computed on$6,000
Credit rate for your AGI35%
OBBBA raised the top rate to 50% for 2026
The credit is nonrefundable: it can reduce your tax to zero but never below it, and nothing is carried forward.
How the tax figure was estimated. Tax before credits is computed from your modified AGI and filing status with the standard deduction. Your own return may differ because of itemized deductions, other income, self-employment tax and credits applied earlier in the Form 1040 ordering — which changes how much of the Child Tax Credit is used against tax and how much becomes refundable.
The 2026 Earned Income Credit, in full
| Qualifying children | Maximum credit | Reached at | Phase-out starts | Fully gone at | Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No children | $664 | $8,680 | $10,860$18,140 joint | $19,540$26,820 joint | 7.65% in7.65% out |
| One child | $4,427 | $13,020 | $23,890$31,160 joint | $51,593$58,863 joint | 34.00% in15.98% out |
| Two children | $7,316 | $18,290 | $23,890$31,160 joint | $58,629$65,899 joint | 40.00% in21.06% out |
| Three or more | $8,231 | $18,290 | $23,890$31,160 joint | $62,974$70,244 joint | 45.00% in21.06% out |
The phase-out is measured on the greater of adjusted gross income and earned income, so a deduction cannot rescue the credit for someone whose gross earnings are already past the last column. Separately, investment income above $12,200 disqualifies the credit outright — a cliff, not a taper, and the figure most often quoted a year out of date.
What a family of two children gets around each threshold
| Income | What changes here | Care credit | CTC used | ACTC | EITC | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15,000 | Care credit still at 50% | —50% | — | $1,875 | $6,000 | $7,875 |
| $18,290 | EITC reaches its maximum | —48% | — | $2,369 | $7,316 | $9,685 |
| $31,160 | EITC phase-out begins | —41% | — | $3,400 | $7,316 | $10,716 |
| $45,000 | Care credit has fallen to its 35% floor | $1,28035% | — | $3,400 | $4,401 | $9,081 |
| $65,899 | EITC fully phased out | $2,10035% | $1,448 | $2,952 | — | $6,500 |
| $150,000 | Care credit starts its second phase-down | $2,10035% | $4,400 | — | — | $6,500 |
| $250,000 | Well below the Child Tax Credit phase-out | $1,20020% | $4,400 | — | — | $5,600 |
Two shapes are worth noticing. The Additional Child Tax Credit falls to nothing as income rises — not because the family lost a credit, but because their tax grew large enough to absorb it all. And the care credit's rate steps down long before the Child Tax Credit's phase-out begins, so a family well under $400,000 is already past every care-credit threshold.
The dependent-care FSA and the care credit
They cannot cover the same dollar
A § 129 dependent-care FSA lets you pay for care with money that never appears in your income. The Child and Dependent Care Credit gives you a percentage of care costs back. Form 2441 Part III reconciles them: every dollar excluded through the FSA reduces the credit's $3,000 or $6,000 expense limit, dollar for dollar. Put the full $7,500 through an FSA — the 2026 limit, raised by OBBBA from $5,000 — and there is nothing left for the credit.
Which is better depends on your rate. The FSA saves income tax at your marginal rate and avoids Social Security and Medicare tax, which the credit does not — worth an extra 7.65% for most earners. A household at 22% therefore saves close to 30% through the FSA against a 20% credit. Lower down, where the credit rate is 50%, the credit usually wins.
There is a real trap in the FSA: it is use-it-or-lose-it, and the higher 2026 limit makes over-electing more expensive. Money forfeited at year end has bought you nothing and has also shrunk the credit you could have claimed instead.
The conditions no calculator can check for you
What decides whether a child qualifies
- Age. Under 17 at the end of the year for the Child Tax Credit. Under 19 for the Earned Income Credit — under 24 if a full-time student, any age if permanently and totally disabled. A child who turns 17 during the year drops from the $2,200 credit to the $500 Credit for Other Dependents, which is the single most common reason a refund falls.
- Identification. The Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Credit both require a Social Security number valid for employment, issued by the due date of the return. An ITIN supports only the Credit for Other Dependents.
- Residency. The child must have lived with you for more than half the year, and for the Earned Income Credit that has to be inside the United States.
- Relationship. Your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling, or a descendant of any of them.
- Nobody else. If two people could claim the same child, the tie-breaker rules in IRC § 152(c)(4) decide, and only one of you can claim any of these credits for that child.
- Support and joint returns. The child must not have provided more than half their own support, and must not be filing a joint return except to claim a refund.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the Child Tax Credit for 2026?
Up to $2,200 for each qualifying child under 17 who has a Social Security number valid for employment, plus $500 for each other dependent. The total is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 (or part of $1,000) of modified AGI above $200,000, or $400,000 on a joint return. Those thresholds are statutory and are not adjusted for inflation, so they do not move year to year.
What is the EITC income limit for 2026?
The credit is fully phased out at $19,540 with no qualifying children, $51,593 with one, $58,629 with two and $62,974 with three or more — and $26,820 / $58,863 / $65,899 / $70,244 respectively on a joint return. Those are the 2026 figures from Rev. Proc. 2025-32, and they are higher than the 2025 amounts, so a 2025 table will wrongly deny the credit to anyone in between.
How much investment income disqualifies me from the EITC?
More than $12,200 for 2026 — up from $11,950 for 2025. It is a cliff, not a phase-out: one dollar over and the credit is zero regardless of how low your earned income is. The test counts taxable and tax-exempt interest, dividends, capital gain net income, and net rental and royalty income.
Is the Child and Dependent Care Credit really 50% now?
For 2026, yes, at the bottom of the income range. OBBBA § 70404 raised the top rate from 35% to 50% for tax years beginning after 31 December 2025. It falls one percentage point per $2,000 of AGI above $15,000 until it reaches 35%, then falls again one point per $2,000 — $4,000 on a joint return — above $75,000 ($150,000 joint) until it reaches 20%. The $3,000 and $6,000 expense limits did not change.
Should I use a dependent-care FSA or the care credit?
Not both on the same dollars. Money run through a § 129 FSA reduces the credit's $3,000 or $6,000 expense limit dollar for dollar, so a family putting the full $7,500 through an FSA has nothing left for the credit. The FSA usually wins at higher incomes because it also escapes Social Security and Medicare tax, which the credit does not, and because it comes off at your marginal rate. At lower incomes the 50% credit rate is hard to beat. Enter both above and compare.
Why is my Additional Child Tax Credit zero?
Because your tax used the whole Child Tax Credit. The Additional Child Tax Credit is not a bonus on top — it is the refundable remnant of a credit your liability could not absorb. If you owe $6,000 of tax and have $4,400 of Child Tax Credit, all $4,400 is used against tax and nothing is left to refund. That is the ordinary outcome for a middle-income working family, and it is not a mistake.
How much is the adoption credit for 2026, and is any of it refundable?
Up to $17,670 of qualified adoption expenses per child, phasing out between $265,080 and $305,080 of modified AGI. For the first time, part of it is refundable: OBBBA § 70402 made up to $5,120 payable for 2026 even if you owe no tax. The rest is nonrefundable and carries forward for up to five years — but the refundable part does not carry forward, so any of it you cannot use is simply lost.
Which credits can I claim if I file separately?
Fewer than you might expect. Married filing separately blocks the Earned Income Credit unless you meet the separated-spouse rules of IRC § 32(d), blocks the Child and Dependent Care Credit unless you lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year, and generally blocks the adoption credit. The Child Tax Credit survives, but its phase-out starts at $200,000 rather than the $400,000 a joint return gets.
Do my children need Social Security numbers?
For the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Credit, yes — a number valid for employment, issued by the due date of the return including extensions. A child with an ITIN does not qualify for either, though they can still support the $500 Credit for Other Dependents. This is one of the most common reasons a claimed credit is later disallowed.
When will a refund with these credits arrive?
Not before mid-February, whatever else is on the return. IRC § 6402(m) bars the IRS from paying any part of a refund on a return claiming the Earned Income Credit or the Additional Child Tax Credit before then. It applies to the whole refund, not just the credit, and it is a statute rather than a processing delay.
Sources & verification
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments →
- IRS — About Schedule 8812 (Form 1040) →
- IRS — About Form 2441, Child and Dependent Care Expenses →
- IRS Publication 596 — Earned Income Credit →
- IRS — About Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses →
- IRC § 21 — Expenses for household and dependent care services →
Related calculators & guides
Waiting for these credits as a refund costs you their use all year. The W-4 optimizer shows how to put the dependent credits on Step 3 so your employer spreads them across your paychecks instead.
Educational estimate only. These are 2026 federal estimates. Whether a child qualifies turns on relationship, residency, support and identification tests that depend on facts this page cannot see, and the tax figure the nonrefundable credits are measured against is estimated from your AGI and filing status rather than a completed return. Full disclaimer.