Basics on the CTC

The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a federal tax credit that helps families with qualifying children reduce their federal income tax liability.

The child tax credit comprises two components:

  • Nonrefundable child tax credit (CTC); and
  • The refundable portion of the CTC, which is the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC).

For a parent or legal guardian to claim the CTC for their qualifying child, the child must meet the following seven requirements:

  • Age Test
  • Relationship Test
  • Support Test
  • Dependent Test
  • Citizenship Test
  • Residency Test
  • Valid SSN Requirement

Sample Video Tutorial and Support Test

In this video discussion and blog post, we want to focus on what it means to meet the “support test” for a qualifying child for the CTC.

Under IRC Section 152(c)(1)(D), the qualifying child cannot provide over one-half of their own support during the calendar year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins. In other words, the child cannot be providing more than one-half of their own support – the support must come from another individual.

How Does the IRS Define Support?

Under Treasury Regulation Section 1.152-1(a)(2)(i), support is defined as food, shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, education, and the like. Generally, the amount of an item of support will be the amount of expense incurred by the one furnishing such item. If the item of support furnished an individual is in the form of property or lodging, it will be necessary to measure the amount of such item of support in terms of its fair market value.

The IRS provides a worksheet in IRS Publication 501, which helps taxpayers calculate the support provided to the qualifying child.

What’s an Example of the Support Test?

John Smith and Jane Smith are married and filing a joint tax return for the 2023 tax year. They have one daughter, Emily, who lives with them full-time and is 15 years old at the end of 2022.

Emily worked a summer job during 2022 as a waitress and earned $2,300 in gross wages. Although Emily earned some of her own money working a part-time job, her parents provided a substantial amount of her required support for the year. The parents provided lodging, food, health insurance, school supplies, clothing, and other support.

Under this scenario, Emily meets the support test because she provided less than one-half of her own support during the tax year.

Additional Pages Covering the Child Tax Credit

More Information on the Child Tax Credit

Taxpayers seeking more information on child tax credits can visit the IRS website and the IRS Form 8812 instructions for CTC and ACTC. The IRS Publication 501 (Dependents, Standard Deductions, and Filing Information) contains guidance on which persons can be claimed as dependents on Form 1040 (US Individual Income Tax Return).